MASSIVE CACHE OF SEIZED COCAINE COMES TO MAYPORT

Nearly 9 Tons Discovered On Colombian Fishing Trawler

A Miami Coast Guard boarding team operating from a Mayport Naval
Station-assigned ship seized an estimated $120 million worth of
cocaine, one of the largest maritime drug seizures in U.S. history.

Ten Colombian crewmen were charged yesterday in federal court in
Jacksonville after nearly 9 tons of cocaine were found on the fishing
vessel they were operating, officials said.

Coast Guard officials put a street value of $120 million on the
17,177-pound take.

Discovered Aug. 3 off the coast of Ecuador, the 81-foot longline
fishing boat Recuerdo was seized by the Miami-based Coast Guard law
enforcement detachment. Although the vessel was turned over to
Panamanian authorities, officials said the crew and cocaine were
brought into Mayport yesterday morning.

Although Navy officials wouldn't release the name of the frigate,
Mayport sources said the USS Robert G. Bradley was the only frigate
to return yesterday morning to the base.

Another unidentified Mayport frigate tasked to hunt for drugs in the
eastern Pacific remains at sea.

"Nine tons is a number I couldn't conceive of prior to this," said
Jeff Leas, the Coast Guard petty officer in charge of the nine-man
boarding team. "What warms my heart is this is 9 tons of cocaine that
will not get out to the streets of America."

The capture is Leas' first maritime seizure and is the largest ever
brought back to Florida. The detachment searched two other suspect
vessels during its two-month deployment with the Navy, but came away
empty-handed.

The seizure on the Recuerdo is touted as the sixth-largest Coast
Guard drug bust in U.S. history. The largest take to date -- close to
13 tons -- was seized aboard the Belize fishing vessel Svesda Maru in
May off the coast of California.

The Recuerdo, registered in Colombia, raised suspicion by being out
of typical fishing areas for that size ship, Coast Guard officials
said.

Once on board, the Coast Guard crew -- the only unit on the Navy ship
with arrest-and-seizure power -- discovered "numerous indicators" of
illicit activity.

Construction materials including cement and freshly completed work on
the vessel raised red flags with the boarding team members, who then
discovered a converted fuel tank filled with drugs.

That, along with another secret compartment, yielded more than 350
50-pound bales of pure cocaine during the 12-hour search.

The vessel's crew was "amazingly calm," Leas said. "They didn't seem
upset or surprised by our presence."

Nine of the Colombian crew are charged with knowingly possessing
cocaine and intentionally possessing cocaine with intent to
distribute. Each charge carries the possibility of life in prison and
up to a $5 million fine.

The 10th crew member, James Antonio Salazar-Perez, 24, was charged
with only one of the counts.

Each of the Spanish-speaking crew members requested representation by
a court-appointed attorney.

The men are in the custody of U.S. marshals at an undisclosed
location. They are being transported to Tampa, where the indictment
was handed down. Their next court appearance is scheduled for 9 a.m.
Monday.

Cmdr. Pete Brown, commanding officer of the Coast Guard's Tactical
Law Enforcement Team South, said the seizure should send a message to
such "smuggling organizations."

"Nine tons is a very substantial amount," he said. "This is a
substantial hit to these organizations. They're trying to stay one
step ahead of us and we're trying to keep one step ahead of them.
This could result in the Coast Guard having another record year."