FISHING BOAT SEIZURE IS LINKED TO TREND IN PACIFIC DRUG ROUTES

A rusty, 72-foot fishing boat suspected of supplying fuel to a band of
smugglers was seized earlier this month by U.S. authorities off the coast
of Panama along with 5,300 pounds of cocaine with a street value estimated
at $530 million.

The fishing boat, the Gran Tauro, reveals a growing trend of smugglers
using vessels to refuel in the Pacific, said Capt. Chip Sharpe, the chief
of operational forces for the U.S. Coast Guard's Pacific area operations.

However, the seizure is the first case of its kind in which authorities
have been able to gather enough evidence to prosecute, he said.

Authorities arrested 12 men who are accused of trying to smuggle the
cocaine from Colombia. They are expected to be arraigned today in San Diego
federal court on cocaine conspiracy charges. If convicted of the most
serious charges, they could face life in prison.

A 15-year-old boy also is being held as a witness.

On Sept. 11, the crew of the Navy frigate De Wert, based in Florida,
detected the fishing boat and a "go-fast" vessel 240 miles southwest of
Panama. The crew of the go-fast, a small boat rigged to reach high speeds,
began dumping the packages of cocaine into the ocean and a Virginia-based
coastal patrol craft, the Firebolt, began retrieving about 90 packages of
the drug.

According to U.S. officials' estimates, the cocaine would have a value of
about $530 million if sold on the streets.

For some reason, the Gran Tauro and the go-fast collided during the attempt
to evade authorities. The crew jumped into the ocean before the go-fast
capsized and sank. They were rescued and brought to San Diego yesterday.

The Coast Guard has noticed a sharp increase in the amount of cocaine being
smuggled through the Pacific, Sharpe said. Colombian drug smugglers began
using Pacific routes more frequently after a U.S. law enforcement crackdown
in the Caribbean.

But the go-fast vessels used by smugglers headed to Mexico often need to
refuel. As a result, smugglers have been using fishing boats as ocean "gas
stations," U.S. Attorney Gregory Vega said.

The Gran Tauro has about 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel on board, more than
the vessel could use.

During the past several years, the Colombian government has been accepting
vessels turned back by U.S. authorities who were suspicious of excess fuel
on board.