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bobdina
09-03-2009, 12:51 PM
Smugglers Dump Drugs, Set Boat on Fire
September 03, 2009
The Virginian-Pilot

A crew of suspected drug smugglers off the coast of Panama threw their cargo into the water, jumped overboard and set the boat on fire after warnings from the crew of the Portsmouth-based Coast Guard Cutter Bear, a news release says.

The Bear's crew, joined by a helicopter that's part of the agency's interdiction team, ordered the vessel to stop, but it kept going, the Coast Guard release says.

The helicopter crew fired shots at the vessel, then the crew threw the cargo overboard, set the boat on fire and jumped, the release says. One of the men suffered minor burns. All of the crew members were rescued by the Coast Guard.

The Bear's crew recovered 46 bales of a cocaine and turned them, along with the crew, over to Panamanian authorities, the release says.

The vessel was estimated to be carrying 2,300 pounds of cocaine, according to the Coast Guard.

The Bear is a 270-foot medium-endurance cutter based in Portsmouth. The cutter deployed on July 16 and is scheduled to return this month.