43,000 POUNDS OF COCAINE SEIZED OFF PANAMA COAST

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Coast Guard has seized 43,000 pounds of cocaine
hidden in two containers aboard a ship off the coast of Panama, the
largest-ever American seizure of the drug at sea, officials said Wednesday.

The Coast Guard cutters Hamilton and Sherman, based in California,
intercepted the Panamanian-flagged Gatun Sunday about 20 miles
southwest of Isla de Coiba after a patrol aircraft spotted the vessel
the previous day, the Coast Guard said.

Fourteen Panamanian and Mexican crewmembers were arrested and will be
charged by U.S. and Panamanian authorities, officials said.

"This record-breaking seizure denied the Mexican drug lords $300
million in drug revenue," Drug Enforcement Agency administrator Karen
P. Tandy said.