Huge Cocaine haul off sailing boat!

[MarkJ]

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/u...n-cocaine-haul

Being an anti druggist this stuff is great

[HappyMdRSailor]

The more this is a deterrent.... The less our cruising hassles are...

[GordMay]

Interesting!

The counter-narcotics work, which is HMS Argyll’s second drugs seizure after a $35 million seizure in August, is part of Operation Martillo.

Launched in January 2012, Operation MARTILLO is a multinational, joint, combined and interagency effort by the nations of the Western Hemisphere and Europe to prevent illicit trafficking in the Caribbean basin, the eastern Pacific Ocean, and the coastal waters of Central America.

The United States takes the lead in Operation MARTILLO with a substantial interagency task force made up from its front-line federal departments, most notably Homeland Security (represented mainly by the U.S. Coast Guard), Treasury, State and Justice, as well as Defense.

As of 2012, 14 countries were participating: Belize, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, France, Guatemala, Honduras, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Spain, United Kingdom, and the United States. Chile had also contributed to the operation.

➥ Pages - Operation Martillo

➥ Drug Wars Episode 1: Inside Operation Martillo -- Fusion

[Cotemar]

Its all in a hard days work for those guys. Glad to see its working.

[Sand crab]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/u...n-cocaine-haul

Being an anti druggist this stuff is great

What's an anti druggist?

[a64pilot]

Makes one wonder how they knew, I guess an informant.
International waters? Do they have authority if it was?

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Sand crab

What's an anti druggist?

A person who does not agree that drugs are not harmful and that drugs should be legalised.

I disagree with the argument "there so much cocaine out there we may as well legalise it"

[MarkSF]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Makes one wonder how they knew, I guess an informant.
International waters? Do they have authority if it was?

A type 23 frigate has authority wherever it likes.

Nice looking sailboat. What a shame to see it used in such a way.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by MarkSF

A type 23 frigate has authority wherever it likes.

Nice looking sailboat. What a shame to see it used in such a way.

No, seriously, what are the limits on search? Can any authority show up and tear into your boat, legally? There has to be some form of international law?

[Sand crab]

The vessel is bound to the laws of what nations flag it flies. So the CG simply gets permission to board the vessel from that country.
Can the Coast Guard Seize a Vessel in International Waters?

[Dsanduril]

+1. Your vessel is bound by the laws of the flag it flies. The USCG can board any American flagged vessel anywhere in the world for, at a minimum, a "safety inspection".

In this case it appears the boat is flying a British ensign (or maybe some Commonwealth version thereof) and the frigate was British with a USCG detachment and the agreement already in place between those two countries, so either could board the boat.

[ontherocks83]

Good show! Glad to see that kind of take down and result.

Definitely am curious though how they knew to search that particular boat.

[Dsanduril]

Originally Posted by ontherocks83

Definitely am curious though how they knew to search that particular boat.

Having been boarded more times than I can count (at one point we were wallpapering the head with our copies of the boarding reports) I would guess from talking with them that about 50% is informant, and the other 50% is "out of pattern". Most sailing cruisers move in herds (I know, we all think we're independent and different ) - generally weather/season related migrations. I can vouch from experience that any boats moving outside that pattern are much more likely to get boarded.

[Blue Stocking]

HMS Argyll was on her way back south after helping us clean up after Cat 3 Gonzalo gave us a good pasting. We had Fay go Cat 1 right over us 6 days before Gonzalo. so Island was a mess.

[Sand crab]

All the countries like to boast of hauls in big financial numbers which means they figure it out as a price per gram for coke. I Googled the price in the UK and they say it's around 40 Pounds. So that's 250,000 grams or about 250 KG or about 551 lbs. However the price in South America is closer to 2500 Pounds a kilo which means there was actually only 625,000 Pounds Sterling worth of blow on the boat.
10,000,000 sounds much better.