A US Customs and Border Protection P-3 Orion maritime surveillance aircraft spotted a fast boat in the Caribbean Sea, setting off an operation.[1] CBP AMO said the aircraft was on a routine patrol in the area on 11 June when its crew identified a three-engine Ecuadorian-style boat carrying fuel barrels and large packages at high speed.[1] Its position data went to Joint Interagency Task Force South and the US Coast Guard, which sent a helicopter and Over-the-Horizon patrol boats to intercept the boat.[1] After an overflight the suspect boat stopped, and Coast Guard teams took control of it.[1]
The operation seized 3,960 pounds of marijuana, about 1,796 kilograms, and two suspects of Ecuadorian nationality were detained, CBP AMO said.[1] Cuenca’s Diario El Mercurio reported that the intervention began on 11 June, when a Jacksonville P-3 on a routine patrol in the Caribbean detected a fast boat with the features of the so-called Ecuadorian boats.[2] El Mercurio reported that US authorities announced the marijuana seizure and the detention of two suspects of Ecuadorian nationality linked to transporting the drug.[2] CBP AMO said on Tuesday that the Jacksonville P-3 patrol had detected a fast boat carrying cargo in the Caribbean Sea days earlier.[3] El Universo reported that Coast Guard teams including a helicopter and other boats answered the call and reached the boat.[3]
CiberCuba described three-engine Ecuadorian-style go-fasts as a widely documented method of moving drugs on Western Hemisphere sea routes.[1] CBP AMO praised what it called excellent teamwork and coordination between its Jacksonville air security operations centre, JIATF-South and the Coast Guard.[1] CiberCuba noted that the case was unusual because the load was marijuana rather than the cocaine more commonly carried on these routes.[1]
