CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Three South Americans caught with 1,748 pounds of cocaine on the high seas have been arrested near Colombia in the Caribbean, authorities said.
Ignasio Espana, 30, and Jairo Riascos Preciado, 52, each of Columbia, and Nestor Vera Escalante, 41, of Ecuador were charged in a criminal complaint on Thursday with possession of cocaine onboard a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert said today.
The three men were ordered detained by U.S. Magistrate Judge Ruth Miller pending a trial in this matter, Shappert added.
According to court documents, on July 12, 2021, while on patrol, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Cutter Mohawk intercepted a low-profile vessel located 125 nautical miles south, southwest of Isla De Molpelo, Colombia.
The vessel was in international waters and displayed no signs of nationality. It also exhibited suspicious factors including the low-profile construction, no navigation lights, and operation in a known drug vector.
The USCG later determined that the vessel was without nationality, thus subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
Upon inspection of the low-profile vessel, three occupants were identified as Espana, Riascos Preciado and Vera Escalante.
The USCG boarding team removed a bale in plain view inside the hull of the vessel. Two presumptive NIK tests were conducted on the recovered bale and yielded a positive reaction for cocaine.
A subsequent search of the entire low-profile vessel resulted in the seizure of approximately 793 kilograms of suspected cocaine.
This case is being investigated by the USCG and the Drug Enforcement Agency, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Delia Smith.
The investigation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.
Additional information about the
OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF
Shappert said that a criminal complaint is merely a charging document and that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.