ORANJESTAD- Marine vessel Zr.Ms. Friesland recently stopped a suspicious Venezuelan fishing boat on the open sea. The vessel was discovered by a US Coast Guard maritime patrol aircraft. The fishing boat went on a known smuggling route after which the Friesland was activated.

With the fast interceptor, the FRISC, with a combined team of the ship’s crew and the US Coast Guard on board, the fishing boat was discovered. The boat was quickly brought to a stop at sea. When the FRISC arrived at the boat, it started to sink. Immediately action was taken to bring the people on board the Friesland. The crew of the Friesland made every effort to keep the fishing boat afloat so that it could be searched for contraband.

Dive team

The suspicious boat was then taken over by Zr.Ms. Friesland towed to Aruba and on the Caribbean Coast Guard in Aruba handed over for further investigation. Because the vessel was partially submerged, the diving team of the Aruba Police Force (KPA) hoisted the boat with their resources so that it could be searched.

During the search of the boat by a team from the coastguard support point Aruba, a large number of packages with suspected narcotics were found. The six people of Venezuelan nationality and the packages have been handed over to the KPA’s Organized Crime Unit for further investigation into the case.