Pubdate: Wed, 05 Apr 2006
Source: Washington Times (DC)
Contact:  http://www.washingtontimes.com/
Address: 3600 New York Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20002
Fax: (202)832-2982
Copyright: 2006 News World Communications, Inc.
Author: Jerry Seper
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)

U.S. CHASES DOWN 'GO-FAST' COCAINE BOAT

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) airplane caught three 
smuggling suspects in a high-speed chase 900 miles southwest of Costa 
Rica, outracing a "go-fast" speedboat laden with cocaine with a 
street value of $35 million, CBP officials said yesterday. In a joint 
operation with the U.S. Coast Guard, CBP officials in Washington 
said, a P-3 aircraft detected and tracked the go-fast vessel over the 
weekend and coordinated interception by a Coast Guard cutter. While 
in pursuit, the officials said, CBP air interdiction agents observed 
the smugglers dump 18 bales of presumed cocaine with an estimated 
street value of more than $10.5 million from the vessel before Coast 
Guard personnel disabled its outboard motors. "This operation is a 
classic example of what we do every day, working with our federal 
partners to detect and interdict drugs before they reach our shores," 
said CBP Assistant Commissioner Michael Kostelnik, who heads the 
agency's air and marine unit. Mr. Kostelnik, a retired U.S. Air Force 
major general, said CBP's P-3 aircraft play a critical role in 
homeland security, tracking and coordinating interdiction of 
suspected smuggling activity.

He said the priority mission of the CBP air and marine unit "is to 
protect the American people from terrorists" and prevent terrorist 
weapons from entering the country. "P-3s perform this vital mission 
by extending security beyond our physical borders," he said. To 
accomplish its mission, he said, the agency has 500 pilots and 250 
aircraft, the largest federal law-enforcement air force in the world, 
as well as more than 200 vessels. Last year, he said, a decision was 
reached to combine CBP's aviation and marine resources, giving the 
agency the ability to more effectively and efficiently accomplish its 
aviation missions. Mr. Kostelnik said CBP uses its aviation assets as 
a critical component of a layered enforcement strategy and to support 
multiple operational objectives, which the agency Web site says 
include: "   Anti-terrorism, including protecting, controlling and 
enforcing federal law at U.S. land borders, adjacent coastal borders 
and air space above the borders. "   CBP's traditional missions of 
staunching drug smuggling and interdicting illegal drugs, including 
interdiction at and near our borders as well as source and transit 
zone operations. "   Additional missions in support of the Department 
of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Joint 
Interagency Task Force-South, and other federal, state and local law 
enforcement partners."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman