COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Cocaine worth $25 million was seized 450 miles northwest of the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and the four men who authorities said were operating that boat on August 18th are headed to Columbus to be prosecuted.
United States Attorney Benjamin Glassman said one of the reasons it was being prosecuted here is, of the 1,584 pounds of cocaine seized by the Coast Guard, some of it would have made its way to Central Ohio.
He said filing charges against alleged drug traffickers caught in international waters is a first for local prosecutors.
“This is the first time the Southern District of Ohio has ever charged the violation of the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act,” said Glassman, US Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.
The four men, Ecuadorian nationals Hernan Emilio Caldas-Estupinan, Oscar Alipio Chila-Mendez, Carlos Alfredo Escobar-Estupinan and Mexican national Jesus Antonio Ramos-Chirino are on their way to Columbus to face a federal grand jury. Glassman said the bust was not without drama.
“They started throwing packages overboard, the helicopter fired warning shots at the vessel, which did not heed the warning shots and eventually the helicopter disabled that vessel,” Glassman said.
He said the boat was not flying any nation’s flag and was spotted and reported by the US Navy to the Coast Guard. He would not reveal where the vessel may have launched. Several homemade submarines have been seized in the past carried drugs, Glassman said this was a boat with two outboard engines.
Glassman said they will continue investigating and prosecuting local, regional and national drug rings. “But we are not satisfied with that, this case is an example where we will go as far as we have to go, even into international waters to stop the drugs before they reach the United States.”
He said the four men could face anywhere from 10 years to life in prison. Authorities claim the Coast Guard is setting record numbers of busts this year, with 50,000 pounds of drugs worth $670 million, including the bust being prosecuted by local authorities, being off-loaded in San Diego.