AGUADILLA, Puerto Rico (CMC)— The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency on Friday said that agents from its Air and Marine Operations (AMO) unit earlier this week seized 384 pounds of cocaine near Mona Island off Puerto Rico.

The seized cocaine has an estimated street value of about US$4.3 million, lawmen said.

Three non-citizens were arrested for transporting the cocaine in a “yola” vessel.

“This successful interdiction near Mona Island is a testament to the dedication of our Air and Marine agents,” said Creighton Skeen, acting director of Air and Marine Operations in the Caribbean.

“Our collective efforts have dealt a significant blow to criminal enterprises seeking to exploit our maritime borders for illicit activities. We remain steadfast in our commitment to securing our communities and preventing the harmful effects of drug trafficking,” he said.

CBP said that during a routine patrol, the crew of an AMO Multi-Role Enforcement Aircraft (MEA) detected a “lights-out vessel moving east located northwest of Mona Island.”

“The MEA crew maintained surveillance of the vessel to assist an AMO Marine unit to reach the vessel,” CBP said.

“The vessel captain failed to heave, and the other occupants started dumping bales into the water. The Marine Interdiction agents stopped the vessel and arrested the three vessel occupants, one Venezuelan and two Dominican Republic nationals. The crew of a Marine unit recovered three bales from the water,” it added.

CBP said the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and US Homeland Security Investigations took custody of the three men and the cocaine for investigation and prosecution.

“The dedication of all maritime surveillance assets is crucial to the success of the mission at hand,” said DEA’s Caribbean Division Special Agent in Charge Denise Foster.

“We will continue to work with our counterparts and allocate all our law enforcement resources to make a greater impact in vulnerable areas where criminal organisations dedicated to drug trafficking are causing greater damage. These individuals pose the greatest threat to the safety and health of our citizens,” she added.