MIAMI, CMC – The United States Coast Guard says aircrews from Air Station Borinquen assisted the Royal Bahamas Police Force and the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with the transfer and disposition of about 391 kilos of cocaine worth an estimated street value of US$7.5 million, at the Mayaguana Airport in The Bahamas.
The US Coast Guard said Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos (OPBAT) partners collaborated to prevent the contraband.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) Drug Enforcement Unit coordinated with Mayaguana Airport Police and DEA agents to seize a suspected smuggling aircraft and discovered the contraband, the US Coast Guard said.
In a statement on Friday, the Coast Guard said the RBPF took custody of a suspected smuggler.
The US Coast Guard said the drug bust follows the 2024 Northern Caribbean Security Summit, which was held in The Bahamas earlier this month.
It was the third annual meeting between executive and law enforcement leaders from the United States, The Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the United Kingdom.
“At the summit, leaders discussed ways to modernize, integrate, and position joint security relationships to confront the complex threats of the 21st century,” said the US Coast Guard, adding that partners “continuously work across the region to dismantle criminal networks, block malign actors, support strong judiciaries, and stop the trafficking of drugs, guns, wildlife, and people.”
OPBAT is “a partnership between the DEA, US Coast Guard, US Customs and Border Protection, the US Department of State, and law enforcement entities of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands to stop the flow of illicit narcotics, through the Caribbean, destined for the United States or other jurisdictions.”
The US Coast Guard said, “OPBAT assets also regularly assist with prosecuting human smuggling and search and rescue cases throughout their area of responsibility.”
and then 