ORANJESTAD - The naval ship Zr.Ms. Friesland recently intercepted a suspicious fishing boat with six Venezuelans. Those on board had many packages of drugs with them.
The fishing boat was in the open sea and was discovered by a US Coast Guard maritime patrol aircraft. The route on which the boat was located is a known smuggling route, according to Defense Caribbean. For that reason, 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 traced,” said Defense.
After the fishing boat was brought to a stop, it suddenly began to sink. Immediately action was taken to bring the people on board the Friesland. The crew of the Friesland tried to keep the fishing boat afloat so that it could be searched for contraband.
The boat was then towed by the Zr.Ms. Friesland to Aruba and handed over to the Caribbean Coast Guard in Aruba for further investigation. During the search, large packages of drugs were found. The six Venezuelans and the packages have been handed over to the KPA's Organized Crime Unit for further investigation.