News Release [print friendly page]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 17, 2008

150 Kilograms of Cocaine Seized from Aircraft in Fort Lauderdale

JAN 17 -- Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, Miami Field Division, along with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency, and the Broward Sheriff’s Office, announces the seizure of 150 kilograms of cocaine from an aircraft in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Photo shows cocaine seizure and photo of aircraft.

On January 13, 2008, a Beechcraft 1900 Twin Engine Turboprop, departed Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela at 8:22 a.m. (EST). It arrived in La Romana, Dominican Republic at 11:00 a.m., departed at 2:40 p.m. and arrived at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 6:23 p.m. The airplane was searched at that time and 68 kilograms of cocaine were seized from the tail section of the aircraft. Pursuant to a further search of the plane on January 15, 2008, an additional 82 kilograms of cocaine were found hidden under the floor of the plane. This joint investigation remains on-going.