Miami: A joint operation by the US Coast Guard and the Royal Netherlands Navy has seized 2,177 kg of cocaine worth $6.3 million (Rs 526.17 crore) in the international market, 40 km from Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. Both the Coast Guard and the Royal Navy conducted a joint operation in the northern Caribbean Sea, the US Coast Guard said in a social media post. In the post, officers from both agencies can be seen unloading containers.
This is the second time in the same week that a ship suspected of carrying cocaine has been intercepted in a joint operation in the US.
On Tuesday, a coastguard spokesman said his team had intercepted drug smugglers in the Caribbean Sea. The ship refused to obey orders to stop and increased its speed and headed towards the Dutch boat.
After this, the Dutch crew and the US Coast Guard on board the boat opened fire in self-defense. As a result, the ship caught fire and sank. There were three smugglers on board the boat when the fire broke out.
The US Coast Guard and Dutch authorities said they had launched a search operation to find the three people on board the boat. His pug has not yet been found. No Dutch Coast Guard or Royal Navy personnel were injured in the operation.