Under command of the Royal Netherlands Navy on Curaçao, 1300 kg of cocaine was seized on Saturday September 3rd. The drugs-seizure took place in international waters in the western part of the Caribbean Sea on board of a Colombian fishing vessel.
Under direction of the drugs enforcement organization Task Group 4.4, which is lead by a Dutch General, a USCG Cutter performed the boarding. A special boarding team searched the fishing vessel and was able to localize the drugs quickly: the 52 bales were not hidden, but were stashed below decks and even some on the deck. The first samples tested positive on cocaine. Firearms were also found on board. Four crew members were taken into custody and the drugs was confiscated.
The Royal Netherlands Navy plays a vital role maintaining regional security and stability in the Caribbean region. Due to the geographical location of the islands that are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, a large portion of her work lays in combating the international drugs trade. For this the navy in the Caribbean is fully integrated in the Joint Interagency Task Force South in Key West. The Commander of the Netherlands Navy in the Caribbean, brigadier general Dick Swijgman, is also the head of one of the task groups of this organization: Task Group 4.4.
Under this task group there is a large variety of international navy ships, helicopters and aircraft that are being deployed to counter drugs transports, weapon smuggling, human traffic and human trade. The Dutch navy ship HNLMS Johan de Witt and her Lynx helicopter are also part of this.