Pubdate: Tue, 22 Jan 2002
Source: Miami Herald (FL)
Copyright: 2002 The Miami Herald
Contact:  http://www.herald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/262
Author: David Green

CHASE LEAVES BALES OF POT LITTERING WATERS OFF MIAMI BEACH

A high-speed water chase that began in Bimini late Sunday night and left 
nearly a million dollars of marijuana floating in its wake culminated when 
a 28-foot go-fast boat ran aground in Miami Beach and its three occupants 
sprinted away.

Customs agents and local police caught two of the men. Wayne Gart Townsend, 
33, of Jamaica, and Steven Emmanuel Forbes, 24, face federal criminal 
charges for smuggling and possession of drugs, according to the Customs 
Service.

A third suspect is still at large, said Special Agent Zachary Mann, Customs 
spokesman.

The chase began when a Customs jet on a routine patrol spotted a suspicious 
boat coming from Bimini shortly before midnight. It was speeding toward 
South Florida with its lights off, Mann said.

As it approached Miami Beach, marine enforcement officers with the Customs 
Service tried to intercept it. The go-fast boat, equipped with twin Yamaha 
engines, speeded away, Mann said.

"During the 40-minute chase, our officers saw them toss packages 
overboard," Mann said.

The occupants of the go-fast boat beached it at 42nd Street and Collins 
Avenue. They sprinted away, but Customs agents jumped out and caught 
Townsend at the scene and, along with local police, nabbed Forbes six 
blocks away.

After the arrests, Customs agents went back and found more than two dozen 
37-pound bales of marijuana floating in the ocean off Miami Beach. 
Estimated street value, according to Mann: $900,000.

Anyone with information about the third suspect is asked to call the 
Customs hot line at 800-BE-ALERT.
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MAP posted-by: Beth