‘High’ Seas – 24lbs Of Cocaine Worth $300,000 Found On Cruise Ship.

Bringing a whole new meaning to the term ‘High Seas’ it has recently been reported that 24 pounds of cocaine worth $300,000 has been found on a cruise ship in Puerto Rico, seven passengers on board the Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas have been arrested.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection dog found the stash while performing routine cabin checks, the animal alerted officers to a suitcase which contained 10 packages of the drug.

While performing cabin inspections the CBP canine alerted to a piece of luggage in one of the cabins which once opened contained 10 packages that subsequently tested positive to the properties of cocaine.

CBP notified U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents, who assumed custody of the seized contraband and of the cabin’s occupant for further investigation.

A total of seven individuals were detained in relation to this incident and Assistant United States Attorney Dina Avila-Jimenez has accepted prosecution of all individuals.

‘San Juan Office of Field Operations has a responsibility to ensure that criminal organizations do not use lawful travel as a means to conceal and move narcotics,’ said Keith McFarquhar, Acting Area Port Director for Puerto Rico. ‘Our officers remain vigilant to detect and prevent any attempts to circumvent the security measures that are in place.’

Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez says six of the arrested were U.S. male passengers, the identity of the seventh was not immediately clear. The ship departed San Juan on time for the scheduled eight-day trip around the Caribbean.

I’ve read before of similar incidents, back in May 2010 drugs with a street value of £1.4 million were sized on board MSC Orchestra in Dover and in January 2015 20 kilos of Cocaine were seized on board the Pullmantur Horizon in Venezuela but with the sheer amount of drugs being trafficked throughout the world on a seemingly daily basis it begs the question whether this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to cruise ships being used as a means to transport illegal drugs.

I can only assume that either security within the cruise industry is so absolutely effective that smugglers tend to use other means of transportation for fear of being caught (or more importantly having their stash impounded), or that many other incidents of a similar nature simply slip under the radar and go unnoticed.

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Bye for now.