Cocaine Haul Seized off Nicaragua

P-3 Orion aircraft U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Air and Marine agents aboard a P-3 Orion aircraft assisted in the interdiction and seizure of more than 679 pounds of cocaine on October 25. The estimated street value of the narcotics is USD 9,2 million. The aircrew alerted Nicaraguan authorities to intercept a suspicious go-fast vessel in the Caribbean Sea south of Corn Island. Nicaraguan law enforcement seized 11 bales of contraband and 8 additional bales are believed to have been thrown overboard. Authorities arrested three suspects while recovering two AK-47 rifles onboard. Under the international counter illicit trafficking initiative called Operation MARTILLO, U.S. military and law enforcement agencies and regional partner nations’ military and law enforcement agencies patrol the air and sea environments in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and the Eastern Pacific on a year-round basis in an effort to detect, monitor and interdict illicit traffickers. Operation MARTILLO includes the participation of 14 nations that are working together to counter trans-national organized crime and illicit trafficking in coastal waters along the Central American isthmus. Press Release