CATCH OF THE DAY -- DRUGS

Eight Tons Of Cocaine, Fishing Boat Seized By Coast Guard, Navy

The Navy destroyer John Young hauled in a big catch -- 8 tons of cocaine, a
78-foot fishing boat and 10 suspected drug smugglers -- and brought the
catch to San Diego yesterday.

Navy and Coast Guard officials said the cocaine was worth $500 million and
was one of the largest maritime drug seizures.

The destroyer and its crew returned yesterday from a seven-week
drug-fighting deployment off Central and South America.

A Coast Guard law enforcement team aboard the destroyer seized the cocaine
and the Belizean boat, Forever My Friend, Feb. 24, said the John Young
skipper, Cmdr. Geoffrey Pack.

The destroyer found the rusty, listing boat about 250 nautical miles
southwest of Acapulco, Mexico.

The John Young towed the vessel 1,400 miles and turned it over yesterday to
the Coast Guard patrol boat Long Island about 20 miles off Point Loma.

The Coast Guard then took the boat, the 10 suspects and the cocaine to the
Coast Guard station near Lindbergh Field.

The bust was to be officially announced at a news conference today attended
by Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta.

Yesterday, Coast Guard officials were tight-lipped about the bust, saying
details would be released today. However, Navy sailors who participated in
the seizure spoke about the arrest.

Intelligence reports led the destroyer to the vicinity of the vessel, then
the ship's helicopter located it, Navy officials said.

Next, the destroyer launched a rigid-hull inflatable boat with a contingent
of Coast Guardsmen. Federal law allows the military only to assist federal
law enforcement and the Coast Guard in drug enforcement duties. Guardsmen
perform all arrests and searches, officials said.

Despite rough seas, the 10 suspected smugglers were captured without
trouble, Pack said.

Then the guardsmen searched the Forever My Friend for 14 hours.

"It wasn't obvious," Pack said, referring to the drug cache.

Guardsmen finally discovered the cocaine beneath the boat's fish hold,
which was loaded with fish and ice. They used hammers, power saws and
drills to break through a concrete-and-steel deck to find the drugs, Pack said.

The Forever My Friend was not too friendly, said Petty Officer 2nd Class
Carmello Fragoso, who spent time on the dilapidated fishing boat during the
trip to San Diego.

"The conditions were atrocious. There were mice -- no, they were big rats
- -- and roaches all over the place," he said.

The suspects were held on the John Young. A temporary jail was created in a
narrow outer passageway where the prisoners slept on mattresses and ate
under guard. They were allowed to exercise daily, and two were treated for
minor medical problems, Pack said.

Pack did not know their nationalities. He said they spoke Spanish.

When the destroyer neared U.S. waters, the Coast Guard took over towing
Forever My Friend. Speedboats carrying armed customs agents and Coast
Guardsmen escorted the patrol boat Long Island.

Several civilian sailboats and powerboats were warned away from the vessels
as they passed Point Loma.

So far this year, the Coast Guard has seized more than 24 tons of cocaine,
nearly all of it in the eastern Pacific. Last year, the Coast Guard seized
a record 62 tons of the drug on the high seas.

As Caribbean and overland routes have received greater scrutiny, more drugs
are being transported by vessels along the Pacific coast, officials said.