Carribbean Coast Guard makes record drug seizure

The Coast Guard in the Caribbean has seized a record amount of cocaine recently, totaling four tons of drugs in a period of three weeks. By comparison, in all of 2021, the Coast Guard intercepted 3,300 kilograms of drugs in the Caribbean.

The last seizure took place last Thursday, in which naval vessel Zr.Ms. Groningen intercepted a drug transport near Curaçao. This happened in collaboration with a helicopter and aircraft from the Coast Guard. More than 1,000 kilograms of drugs were seized and five Venezuelans were arrested.

The largest amount of drugs in recent times was seized on July 27 when the Zr.Ms. Groningen intercepted a speedboat, which tried to drive away. During the chase that followed, the Coast Guard fired shots and one person on board the boat was killed.

The Venezuelan crew managed to throw several packages of drugs overboard during the chase. In the end, 1,620 kilograms of cocaine were seized on the boat. The persons on board have been handed over to the Curaçao police.