(at the Coast Guard Station)
Coast Guard cutter brings home 18,000 pounds of cocaine
The Associated Press
Last Updated 10:01 am PDT Sunday, May 15, 2005
ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) - A U.S. Coast Guard cutter returned to its homeport here Saturday with nearly 18,000 pounds of cocaine seized at sea.
During the patrol, the crew of the cutter, the Boutwell, also rescued a Mexican citizen 150 miles west of the Galapagos Islands. The man had been lost at sea for 23 days on his 28-foot fishing boat, according to the Coast Guard. A lookout on the Boutwell spotted the man waving a makeshift flag.
He was brought onboard and treated for dehydration.
The crew seized 10,349 pounds of cocaine March 29 when it intercepted a fishing vessel 300 miles west of Mexico, according to Coast Guard officials. Six crew members were detained.
Some 141 bales of cocaine allegedly were seized from an 80-foot Venezuelan fishing vessel 200 miles east of the Galapagos Islands, the Coast Guard reported.