In one of the largest marijuana seizures in U.S. Coast Guard history, a cutter scooped up nearly 10,000 pounds of marijuana thrown overboard by a speedboat off the coast of Baja California earlier this week.
The marijuana, which was wrapped up in 137 steamer-trunk-sized bales, had an estimated road value of $32 million, said Lt. Kristopher Ensley, the leader of the cutter that recovered the drugs.
It was "a huge bust," Ensley said Thursday. "My whole crew is joking that we’re the reason a dime bag is now being called a mercy bag."
The cutter Narwhal, based in Newport Beach, was patrolling international waters relative to 100 miles off the sea-coast of San Diego when it saw the speedboat on its radar screen after the proper time Sunday afternoon, Ensley said. The Narwhal began tailing the boat as it headed northern toward the U.S. and noticed that it sped up when the sun went down. The boat, which was about 30-feet long, open-hulled and low to the water, also did not accept any lights, the Coast Guard said.
Ensley said the Narwhal called out to the boat to stop around 7:30 p.m. The boat took most distant in the direction of Mexico, and its crew — made up of about four people — started jettisoning the drug cargo in the ocean, leaving a trail of bobbing bales about four miles drawn out, Ensley said.
Narwhal chased the boat, but it had moved into Mexico’s waters by here and there 8 p.m. Ensley at that time turned the case over to the Mexican Navy and headed back for the marijuana.
Working through the adversity through night-vision goggles, flares and spotlights, the Narwhal’s crew recovered 136 bales. A helicopter found one more Monday morning. That afternoon, Ensley turned the drugs over to a treaty narcotics task force in San Diego, which is investigating the case. The bales tested positive for marijuana.
The haul without ceasing Monday dwarfed Ensley’s other recent marijuana recovery in the same domain in September, when he picked up about 330 pounds. The Narwhal’s seizure also added up to nearly half the amount seized by the Coast Guard from October 2007 to September 2008.
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News Hawk: User: http://www.420magazine.com/
Source: Los Angeles Times
Author: Jia-Rui Chong
Copyright: 2008 Los Angeles Times
Contact: How to Contact the Los Angeles Times - Los Angeles Times
Website: Coast Guard seizes nearly 10,000 pounds of marijuana off Baja California - Los Angeles Times
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