The Dominican Republic’s National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD) revealed on Monday that it has seized 806 packs of what they believe is cocaine in a joint drug-trafficking bust operation with the United States as part of Operation Southern Spear.
DNCD explained that the 806 packages of drugs were sent under chain of custody to the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (INACIF) to determine the type and exact weight of the shipment.
The Directorate detailed in an official statement that Monday’s actions marked the country’s second joint operation with the United States since the start of Operation Southern Spear. The operation was a success thanks to the joint efforts of the Dominican drug directorate, the nation’s Army and Air Force, and the United States’ Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF South) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The drugs were seized off the coast of the Dominican city of Pedernales. Officials neutralized a 27-foot boat with two outboard motors. DNCD detailed that, based on information from intelligence reports, the vessel was heading to the Dominican Republic with its large cache of narcotics, leading to “several hours of uninterrupted pursuit” concluding with response teams intercepting the vessel several nautical miles south of Isla Beata.
Three Dominican nationals were arrested during the operation and will be charged with violation of the country’s drugs and controlled substances laws. A satellite radio, a GPS, personal documentation, two cell phones, and other pieces of evidence were seized by officials during the operation.
The DNCD explained that authorities are trying to determine if the seized drugs are related to a separate drug shipment seized over the weekend during the first joint Dominican-U.S. operation as part of Operation Southern Spear.
On Saturday, DNCD announced that two men were arrested trying to ship 484 packages of presumptive cocaine in another drug-busting operation in support of Operation Southern Spear. On that day, officials intercepted two men aboard a speedboat with no name or registration number that attempted to transport 18 bags containing the alleged drugs, wrapped in adhesive tape with different logos.
“The vessel, which according to reports had departed from South America bound for the Dominican coast, alerted the authorities, who implemented early response protocols to neutralize the boat, arrest its crew, and confiscate the stash of 484 packages,” the announcement read.
DNCD sources reportedly explained to AFP that, “for the moment,” it is difficult to determine whether the first boat departed from Colombia or Venezuela. The unnamed source pointed out that the 484 seized packages were equivalent to almost 500 kilograms of drugs.
Last week, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced Operation Southern Spear, a military operation led by the United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) against narco-terrorists operating in the Western Hemisphere.
Over the past weeks, the United States deployed a military presence in Caribbean international waters to combat drug traffickers in the region as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to curb the flow of deadly drugs entering the United States.
“This mission defends our homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our hemisphere and secures our homeland from the drugs that are killing our people,” Hegseth said.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
