Coast Guard officers yesterday arrested three men and seized a quantity of marijuana after a high speed boat chase off Icacos, Cedros. The men, together with 65 packages of marijuana weighing 35.54 kilos with an estimated street value of $360,000, were handed over to officers of the Organised Crime Narcotics and Firearms Bureau (OCNFB), Customs and Excise Division. A Glock pistol with 16 rounds of 9mm ammunition and $2,000 Bolivares (Venezuelan currency) were also seized by the Coast Guard and handed over to police.
In a release yesterday, T&T Coast Guard Public Affairs Officer Lt Commander Kirk Jean-Baptiste said around 3.36am while on routine patrol on the southern coast, Coast Guard officers pursued a white pirogue, TFN 524 and named ‘SACHA,’ after its crewmen ignored their ‘stop and prepare to be boarded announcement.’ The vessel, with the three men on board, was intercepted after a short chase.
The crew was detained and taken to Staubles Bay, Chaguaramas, before being handed over to police.