US COAST GUARD MAKES HUGE PACIFIC COCAINE HAUL

SAN DIEGO - The Belize-registered Svesda Maru was one poor fishing vessel
- -- it had no rods, reels or nets, and it was "fishing" in waters so barren
that no-one fishes there.

But it did have a cargo far, far more precious than fluke and flounder:
officials said today that they found just over 13 tonnes of cocaine stashed
in its fuel tanks.

The discovery aboard the ship, seized on 3 May about 800 km off Acapulco,
Mexico, was the second such bust in the eastern Pacific in less than two
months and signals a growing increase in drug trafficking in that area,
Coast Guard Pacific Command Vice Admiral Ray Riutta told a news conference
in San Diego.

A Customs Service jet discovered the suspicious vessel in late April when
it was observed "fishing" in an area of the Pacific that is not used for
fishing. After tracking the 46-metre Svesda Maru for several days, the
probe was turned over to the Coast Guard, which seized the ship.

The drugs were found hidden in fuel tanks beneath fish holds that were
virtually empty, Riutta said. There was no sign of fishing gear aboard the
vessel.

"That's what really aroused our suspicions ... a boat that wasn't really
fishing," Riutta said.

With a crew of 10 Russians and Ukranians, the ship was towed to San Diego.
The 10 were taken into federal custody and may face arraignment on
smuggling charges.

If convicted the men could face 10 years to life in prison and a $US4
million fine, officials said.

"This is certainly the largest Coast Guard bust in maritime history," said
Coast Guard spokeswoman Petty Officer Jamie Devitt-Chacon.

Riutta said that he believed traffickers were turning away from the
Caribbean waters where drugs are traditionally smuggled and relying more
frequently on the Pacific, which presents drug enforcement agents with "a
new challenge."

"Every time we come up with a new method they come up with a way to counter
it," he said. "It's very frustrating. There's an awful lot of traffic out
there."

Coast Guard officials believe the shipment was bound for Mexico or Columbia
where it was believed that cartels would use sophisticated distribution
systems to transport it to the United States.