MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine Coast Guard seizes 444 kilos of cocaine en route to Uruguay sea resort

The ‘Traful’ with a Spanish crew suffered a breakdown in the hull

Argentina’s Coast Guard reported that a total of 444 kilos of cocaine were seized on Saturday, after being found on a sailing boat manned by a Spanish crew, close to the main port of the Olivos. The vessel was heading for Piriápolis, in neighbouring Uruguay.

One person has been arrested in conjunction with the findings, while three suspects remain on the run.

Cost Guard officials confiscated the class-A drugs on board the Traful sailing boat along the coast of the Greater Buenos Aires area of Olivos, close to the main port.

The boat sailed out of La Plata Port and was on its way to Piriápolis when it suffered a breakdown in the hull, declaring emergency at kilometre 30 of the River Plate.

Immediately, the naval command sent out the coastguard and means of support; locating the boat, which at the time had two people on board. They were helped to be able to continue on toward the E Dock in Buenos Aires port before mooring in at the Argentine Yacht Club.

It was at their stop in Olivos, that the sum of illegal drugs was discovered and consequentially seized by officials, after the boat was checked by naval officers.

Argentine Security Minister Nilda Garré observed the operation and during a press conference, considered the discovery to be “very important”.

Over a year ago in a similar incident the Argentine coast guard captured a sailing vessel heading for Uruguay with several hundred kilos of cocaine. The investigation helped discover an international Serbia led ring of drugs’ smugglers from the River Plate to the Adriatic.