Authorities in New York City began an investigation Sunday into the source of 275 pounds of cocaine found on board a freighter that had sailed into the New York harbor from St. Croix.
According to a story carried in the Sunday on-line edition of the New York Daily News, the drug cache – dozens of bricks of cocaine – was found by Coast Guard authorities who boarded the 539-foot freighter Timashevsk following its collision with a navigation buoy in the harbor off Staten Island.
"The drug drama began to unfold late Friday night after the freighter, which had sailed to New York from St. Croix with a cargo of chemicals, damaged its rudder when it hit the OpSail buoy," the story said.
OpSail 2000, or Operation Sail, is a flotilla extravaganza of some 300 tall sailing ships, war ships and other vessels assembled in the harbor this week in celebration of the first Independence Day of the new millennium.
The Daily News report said the drugs were discovered by a contractor summoned by the Timashevsk crew to make repairs to the damaged rudder. The worker saw several burlap bags in a hollow space in the boat hull above the rudder and alerted the Coast Guard. Authorities estimated the street value of the drugs at more than $5 million.
No crew members were arrested, accordingto the newspaper account, and authorities were trying to determine whether anyone aboard the freighter was involved in the smuggling operation.
Coast Guard officials say the Timashevsk was next scheduled to visit Venezuela.