Five foreign nationals remained in custody Tuesday after Customs and Border Control officers seized a “significant sum” of money along with four packages of cocaine on their fishing vessel.
Customs and Border Control, in a statement Tuesday afternoon, said the five men were on board an inbound commercial fishing vessel flagged on Sunday, 20 Aug.
Their nationalities have not been released.
Their vessel was initially boarded by Cayman Islands Coast Guard officers, the CBC said, and then escorted to the George Town Port.
“The in-ward escort allowed for carrying out required vessel clearance protocols as established in the Customs and Border Control Act,” the statement from the border control authority said.
The statement said between Sunday and Monday, CBC and its partner agencies conducted inspections of the vessel, its cargo and crew which led to the recovery and seizure of the money and the four packages containing a white substance.
Field tests of the substance, CBC said, returned a positive result for cocaine.
The Cayman Compass has asked for the amount of cash seized and the total weight of the drugs, and is awaiting this information.
The men were arrested and taken into custody in connection with the undeclared money and the importation of a controlled drug.
CBC Acting Director Bruce Smith, in the statement, commended Coast Guard, police and border control officers “for their individual and collective efforts for maintaining focus and for their commitment to the ensuing investigation”.
There was no indication on whether the men in custody have been charged.
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