see also: in December 2008:   CBP Lists Top 10 Enforcement Events of 2008   CBP Seizes $200K in Undeclared Currency; Arrest 1 at Texas Port   Marfa Sector Agents Apprehend Murder Suspect   San Ysidro Port Modernization Deployment Temporarily Reduces Lanes   Border Patrol Agents Assist in Locating Distressed Individual   CBP Officers Stop Man at Michigan Border Crossing Wanted for Aggravated Sexual Assault   Holiday Surprise; CBP Unwraps 312 Pounds of Khat in December ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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St. Croix, U.S.V.I. – Yesterday, Customs and Border Protection officers working jointly with Drug Enforcement Administration agents, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, U.S. Virgin Island Police Department and the USVI Blue Lighting Strike Force personnel retrieved 220 pounds of cocaine concealed in a shipment of spice seasoning.

On December 8, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canada Border Service Agency seized approximately 608 pounds of cocaine using a similar concealment method. Canadian agencies coordinated with U.S. Federal agencies to ensure that similar shipments would be detected.

CBP, DEA, ICE, VI Police Department and VI Blue Lighting Strike Force worked together and inspected a container of 800 boxes of food items; they discovered 139 boxes of spice seasoning that had narcotics. The shipment arrived on a motor vessel from Guyana and was transiting through St. Croix, USVI on its way to Canada. Narcotics were hidden in the cardboard dividers between the bottles. A total gross weight of a little more than 220 pounds of cocaine was retrieved and seized.

“U.S. Customs and Border Protection will put out all the stops to work with other law enforcement agencies and ensure that our mission is accomplished,” said Marcelino Borges, director of San Juan Field Operations. “In this instance, quick action from all participant agencies resulted in this seizure. It is clear that working together and sharing intelligence were key factors in the successful detection and seizure of these illegal substances.”

This seizure is another example of DEA efforts in the U.S. Virgin Islands to curtail the flow of drugs through the Caribbean transit zone," said Javier F. Peña, special agent-in-charge of the DEA Caribbean Division. "DEA's close coordination with our international counterparts, such as the Canadian Border Service Agency and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and our domestic partners, such as CBP, ICE and VIPD, are key to the success of these efforts"

"The importation of illegal narcotics into the United States is a very serious crime and the unscrupulous persons involved will not receive reprieve from law enforcement," said Manuel Oyola Torres, special agent-in-charge of ICE's Office of Investigations in Puerto Rico. "In our efforts to keep illegal drugs from entering the United States and off the streets of our communities, we will continue working with our Department of Homeland Security and other federal law enforcement partners to identify and dismantle drug trafficking and money laundering organizations that operate within our jurisdiction."

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.