CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Two crew members of a go-fast boat were arrested after a Royal Canadian Naval ship recovered 35 bales of cocaine while patrolling with a U.S. Coast Guard detachment off the coast of Mexico.
Julio Contreras Bueno and Christian Garay Ochoa, each of Mexico, appeared before Magistrate G. Alan Teague in St. Thomas for their initial appearance after being charged by Indictment with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine while on board a vessel subject to jurisdiction of the United States, U.S. Attorney Delia L. Smith said.
According to court records, on September 5, 2024, during a routine patrol in international waters in the Eastern Pacific, a Royal Canadian Naval ship with a United States Coast Guard detachment onboard intercepted a go-fast vessel after it was sighted approximately 427 nautical miles southwest of Acapulco, Mexico.
The vessel, which was dead in the water floating adrift with bales visible on the deck, displayed no indicia of nationality and had no flag flown.
The Coast Guard detachment conducted a right of visit boarding on the vessel as it was suspected of illicit maritime activity.
The vessel had a large hole in its bow and Julio Contreras Bueno, Christian Garay Ocho and Francisco Hernandez Penaloza were found onboard.
A claim of Mexican nationality was made by the crew, but the Mexican government could neither confirm nor deny nationality of the vessel.
The vessel was therefore determined to be one without nationality, thus subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
A search of the vessel revealed 35 bales consistent with contraband.
Two presumptive tests were conducted on packages inside the bales, which proved positive for cocaine.
The contraband was removed, and the vessel was sunk due to the damage to the hull.
The initial appearance of Hernandez Penaloza will be scheduled before Magistrate Teague pending his removal
from the Southern District of California.
If convicted, they face a minimum of ten years and a maximum of life in prison.
A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The written statement issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in St. Thomas did not identify how much cocaine was seized in terms of pounds or kilograms or the approximate dollar value of the illegal narcotics.
This case is being investigated by the United States Coast Guard and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kyle Payne.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
U.S. Attorney Smith said that a criminal Indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/55043395/USA_v_Bueno_et_al
