Cocaine-laden catamaran seized as heavy-lift transport detained

More than 200 kilos of cocaine have been seized from a luxury catamaran being transported alongside several high-end yachts. The cocaine’s said to have a street value of nearly $3m.

After arriving at the port of Ensenada, Mexico, the catamaran Quest was unloaded, and the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic in conjunction with the Secretariat of the Navy of Mexico seized the drugs.

The Dutch-owned heavy-lift vessel Happy Dover (BigLift Shipping) arrived at Ensenada on 12th November from USA (Palm Beach) via the Panama Canal with several luxury yachts on board, says Break Bulk.

Mexican authorities have detained the ship which arrived after a call in Costa Rica, says Maritime Executive. The ship had made a transit of the Panama Canal with previous stops in the Bahamas. The next port of call is scheduled to be Long Beach, California and the ship’s operators reported that it was scheduled to continue on a Pacific crossing bound for Tahiti and Fiji.

Speaking to the Dutch media, a spokesperson for the ship’s operator said they were uncertain how long the lift ship would be detained in Mexico. The company does not believe that the ship or its crew was involved in the smuggling, although it did not report where the catamaran had been loaded.