$83m bust

The US Coast Guard (USCG) nabbed a St Vincent & Grenadines-flagged ship carrying over $83m worth of cocaine in the Caribbean recently, it has emerged.

The vessel, named as Olympiakos, was intercepted in an undetermined position in the Caribbean Sea on 3 December with 6,000 pounds of the drug uncovered, a statement on Monday read.

“While conducting a routine law-enforcement patrol, the crew of a Customs and Border Protection surveillance aircraft spotted the Olympiakos, a 242-foot coastal freighter, and notified the crew of the Harriet Lane.

“Crewmembers intercepted the vessel, located the contraband, and detained 11 suspects.”

The USCG took the unusual step of naming the ship concerned but there are doubts that ‘Olympiakos’ is the genuine name of the vessel.

“[The] disposition of the vessel is still being determined,” the statement continued.

“The seized cocaine has an estimated US street value of more than $83m.”

The suspects were taken into USCG custody but have now been handed over to US law enforcement agencies, TradeWinds was told on Tuesday.

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