SPEEDBOAT CHASE NETS TON OF COCAINE IN CARIBBEAN

MIAMI - The U.S. Coast Guard seized a ton of cocaine and
arrested five people after smugglers tried to jettison the drugs into
the sea following a high-speed boat chase through the Caribbean,
officials said Wednesday.

Pilots aboard a military plane notified the Coast Guard they had
spotted a suspicious speedboat about 180 miles south of Jamaica last
Thursday.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Jeff Murphy said the speedboat crew spotted
the plane overhead and tried to cover the moving vessel with a blue
tarp to make it blend in with the color of the water.

Two Coast Guard cutters and a helicopter gave chase. As the cutter
crews lowered inflatable boats into the water to attempt a boarding,
the speedboat crew began jettisoning packages over the side of the
boat. The Coast Guard recovered 40 of the bundles, each containing 50
pounds of cocaine.

The speedboat crew surrendered after a 10-minute chase, Murphy said,
adding, ``They realized they weren't going to outrun us so they came
to a stop.''

Officials arrested five people aboard the boat, and seized the 35-foot
vessel and a ton of cocaine.

The crewmen were turned over to federal authorities in Key West
Tuesday, Murphy said. Authorities could not immediately confirm their
claim to be Colombian citizens, and their boat did not have any hull
numbers or registration papers, Murphy said.