Hello boattaxi thank you for your question and subsequent clarification.
After extensive research I now have answers to all of your questions,
with some additional information at the end which I think will be of
interest to you.
My answer is quite lengthy, but doing the research was very
interesting, infact I think I can now say I?m something of an expert
in the field of ?drug smuggling into the United States via the
Caribbean? :)
Right lets get started. I?ve formatted my answer in order of the
questions you asked..............
Q. What is the process when they get to the coast of america? (How do
they off-load?)
A. ?Cocaine arriving in Florida can come from Bolivia and Peru (and,
less frequently, from southeast Asia via the northeastern U.S.), but
the vast majority arriving in Florida comes from Colombia, and it is
typically brought in loads consisting of several hundred kilograms.
The loads may be flown from Colombia to islands in the Caribbean,
where they are off-loaded onto what are known as "go-fast" boats and,
increasingly, "junk freighters" with complicated crew quarters, cargo
holds, and hulls. The go-fast boats penetrate Florida at one of the
numerous harbors in our thousands of coastline miles. The freighters
may travel up the Miami River to dock for several days or weeks until
their crew is sure that U.S. Customs agents are no longer watching. Or
the loads may be placed in otherwise legitimate cargo in large
container ships, bound from any other country bordering the Atlantic
or in the Caribbean for one of the seaports of this State. For those
willing to risk it, the importation of cocaine can yield about $3,000
per kilogram moved.
Haitian-owned freighters, in particular, have been modified to include
hidden compartments for the movement of cocaine and currency. Agents
have found cocaine and currency in hollowed walls, false roofs, cargo
holds, voids between decks, ballast tanks, fuel tanks, oil tanks,
engine rooms, pipes, layers of metal, the keel, and hidden within the
cargo itself, for example, used mattresses and other noxious items
that are difficult to search. It is estimated that every Haitian-owned
freighter on the Miami River at any given time has either been seized,
forfeited, and re-sold at auction as a result of a cocaine seizure, or
it has been the subject of intelligence that cocaine and/or currency
shipments have moved on them. Twelve such vessels between November
1999 and June 2000 were found by Customs to be hauling a total of
2,727 kilograms of cocaine. It is not unusual for these freighters,
once seized and forfeited by law enforcement authorities, to be sold
at auction to the operators of smuggling operations aware of the
intricately concealed compartments and willing to make the highest
bid. Customs engages in the re-sale of these vessels in large part so
that it may recoup the docking fees incurred during the forfeiture
proceedings, although we should note that the agency cannot know to
whom it sells the ships when third-party agents hide the owners' true
identities?
http://myfloridalegal.com/pages.nsf/0/0667395c8b0afc7a85256cca005b44d1?OpenDocument
?Transportation groups located in the Bahamas utilize a variety of
methods to move cocaine from the islands to the United States.
Colombian traffickers air drop shipments of cocaine off the coast of
Jamaica, or utilize boat to boat transfers on open seas. Jamaican and
Bahamian transportation groups then use Jamaican canoes to smuggle
their payloads into the Bahama chain, frequently using the territorial
waters of Cuba to shield their movements. The cocaine is then
transferred to pleasure craft which disappear into the inter-island
boat traffic.?
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/1998_hr/h980312m.htm
=========================================================================
Q. Are they armed with some sort of guns or wepons?
A. Actually, I could find no reference to weapons being seized when
the boats are caught. This is probably for one (or both) of the
following reasons.
1.) They don't carry guns because if they are caught the Coast Guard
has superior firepower (Helicopters armed with 50 calibre guns etc,
and sharp shooters) so a firefight would be suicidal.
2.) They do carry guns, but before being caught dump them overboard,
in order to avoid additional charges of illegal possesion of
firearms.
(Bear in mind that 90% of the boats get through without being caught anyway!)
=========================================================================
Q. How do they keep from getting caught?
A. Speed, stealth and by travelling at night. By stealth I mean submarine.
"Colombia cops find submarine big enough for tons of drugs"
http://www.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/americas/09/07/colombia.drugsub.ap/
"approximately 80 percent of illegal narcotics that enter the United
States via maritime routes are transported on go-fast vessels, which
are typically 30 to 40 feet in length and capable of carrying up to
three tons of cocaine at speeds in excess of 50 knots."
http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/article.cfm?Id=854
=========================================================================
Q. How much (in pounds and money value) worth of drugs do they cary?
A. It varies quite alot:
?The most successful mission to date for HITRON-10 came February 12,
when the squadron stopped a "go-fast" smuggling boat carrying 7,670
pounds of cocaine with a wholesale street value of $34 million?
?In the Caribbean, drug smugglers typically carry 2,000 pounds of
cargo in open-hold go-fasts with outboard motors,?
http://216.239.39.104/search?q=cache:EPY_2yrZ0rwJ:www.defensedaily.com/reports/rotorwing/previous/0502/0502rorep.htm+caribbean+%22go+fast%22+%22pounds+of%22+worth&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
=========================================================================
Q. Do they cary cash back to the country that they orrigionally came from?
A. It would seem not. I suspect this is because the crews of the ?go
fast? boats are generally fairly poor people wanting to make a fast
buck (literally) and there would almost certainly be an overwhelming
temptation to divert to anywhere else rather than Haiti (or from
wherever your boss is waiting ;) when you are returning with maybe
more than a million dollars in US currency!
The payment for the drugs finds it?s way back to the sender of the
drugs by a safer route ie. it?s not ?Cash On Delivery?
?Bulk cash carried via human couriers or concealed in vehicles shipped
to the Dominican Republic aboard shipping vessels is a primary method
for transporting drug proceeds from the United States to the Dominican
Republic. Intelligence also indicates that drug proceeds are often
used to buy personal vehicles in the United States for export to the
Dominican Republic.?
http://wwwa.house.gov/international_relations/107/guev1010.htm
=========================================================================
Q. How many people are on each drug boat?
A. On average it seems 4 - 5
"Five crew were arrested"
"Seventeen crew members from Lithuania, Estonia and Colombia were arrested."
"Two suspected smugglers were transferred to the CG."
"Five male and one female (unknown if they are crew or not) were arrested"
http://sms.classnk.or.jp/ispshp/html/English/Incident/SouthAmerica/Drugs.htm
"and the detention of five smugglers."
http://www.mayportmirror.com/stories/061203/may_mcwar002.shtml
=========================================================================
Q. What countries are they comming from?
A. "Jamaica, the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic are major
Caribbean transit routes for South American drugs headed for the
United States"
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/americas/03/01/drugs.caribbean.reut/
"Haiti -- A Path of Least Resistance
Haiti provides a telling example of how drug smuggling organizations
adapt their operations in response to law enforcement pressures and
capabilities. The political instability in Haiti, combined with its
lack of law enforcement capabilities provides a safe haven to drug
smuggling organizations. Haiti is clearly well positioned for
traffickers to use as a "path of least resistance," particularly when
enforcement activity in Puerto Rico is high."
http://usinfo.state.gov/regional/ar/islands/carib9.htm
"Colombia's cocaine trade
Almost a ton of drugs leaves the country daily in 30-foot 'go-fasts':
a risky, but lucrative, smuggling business"
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0918/p05s01-woam.html
Nicaragua
"Also attractive to traffickers are the primitive social conditions in
Nicaragua, which have left large areas of the country with little
ability to conduct law enforcement operations, especially in the
Caribbean Region and around the northeast border with Honduras."
http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/intel/20011/20011.html
"May 23, 2003
Major drug bust
A combined operation between Costa Rican, US, and Canadian counter
narcotics agencies led to the seizure of 1,360 kilograms (2,996 lb) of
cocaine found on board a sailboat owned and operated by a Canadian
citizen. According to Costa Rican officials, the Canadian national
picked up the drugs from Colombian go-fast boats near the Galapagos
Islands. The cocaine was going to be sailed to Mexico for final
shipment to Montreal and Toronto in Canada, or through Costa Rica to
Mexico, and Canada."
http://overseassecurity.com/2/Incident_Archive/Costa_Rica_Incident_Archives.htm
=========================================================================
Q. How fast do the average boats travel?
A. From almost 0 to in excess of 50 knots (nearly 60 mph)
"These shipments typically are transported to U.S. territory in the
Caribbean by "go-fast" boats although use of fishing boats,
freighters, and cruise ships is becoming more common"
http://www.stluciamirroronline.com/2003/mar14/art2.htm
"capable of carrying up to three tons of cocaine at speeds in excess of 50 knots."
http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/article.cfm?Id=854
" All three involved the Dependable chasing a boat the Coast Guard calls a
"go-fast," which are vessels 30 to 40 feet long designed to travel
light and go very, very fast, reaching speeds of 60 mph"
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1706/a10.html?1638
========================================================================
Q. What are the methods that they are caught by the
U.S.Government/border/coast guard?
A. "The USCG airplane spotted the drug smugglers using the CASPER
system (Airborne Sensory Palletized Electronic Reconnaissance
equipment),"
http://sms.classnk.or.jp/ispshp/html/English/Incident/SouthAmerica/Drugs.htm
"The Coast Guard has acquired new equipment and developed
capabilities to use armed helicopters, over-the-horizon cutter boats,
and non-lethal vessel-stopping technologies to address the go-fast
threat"
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/international/factsht/interdiction.html
"The Dependable launched a helicopter, armed with 50-caliber guns"
"Christian also praised Petty Officer 1st Class Tom Higgins, who
piloted the 21-foot boat against the go-fasts. In one encounter, he
said, Higgins used the setting sun - approaching the go-fast with the
sun behind him - to gain the element of surprise.
"Using the sun for cover he came in from the west, into treacherous
shoals, and startled them. He got in a high-speed pursuit as the sun
set and chased them until 1 a.m. It took incredible bravery and
stamina," Christian said"
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1706/a10.html?1638
========================================================================
Q. What is the persentage of caught boats to boats that get through
uncaught/undetected?
A. Only about 10% are caught.
"The Coast Guard estimates it stops 10 to 12 percent of those drug
deliveries. Is it worth the effort?"
http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0005/31/nr.00.html
"The estimated success rate for go-fast deliveries is close to 90 percent."
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/international/factsht/interdiction.html
========================================================================
Q. How much in total Dollars and pounds of drugs are smuggled on boats
in the carribean each year?
A. In 2002 3.5 Billion dollars, and 158,096 lbs (One hundred an fifty
eight thousand pounds) of Cocaine and Marijuana products were seized.
http://www.uscg.mil/news/Drugs/
?This follows a near record of cocaine seizures in the Coast Guard?s
fiscal year 2003, which ended on September 30. The Coast Guard netted
a total of 136,865 pounds of cocaine worth more than $4 billion and
arrested 283 drug smugglers.?
http://www.uscg.mil/d5/news/2003/r090-03.html
========================================================================
Q. And Finally, could you give me a list of movies and books that have
been made or written about this specific subject?
This was the only part of your question that had me stumped. Books
and films are not very common on this subject.
There is this book... ?Hole in my life?
?For ten thousand dollars, he recklessly agreed to help sail a
sixty-foot yacht loaded with a ton of hashish from the Virgin Islands
to New York City, where he and his partners sold the drug until
federal agents caught up with them. For his part in the conspiracy,
Gantos was sentenced to serve up to six years in prison.?
But I suspect the book is mostly about his time in prison, rather than
being about smuggling drugs in the Caribbean. Also it happened a long
time ago 1972
Probably the best way to find books on drug smuggling in the
Caribbean, is to have a look at Amazon.com I did a quick search and
there do appear to be some, click on the link below.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index%3Dstripbooks%26field-keywords%3Ddrugs%252520smuggling%252520caribbean%252520%252522fast%252520boats%252522%26store-name%3Dbooks/102-8507435-8550550
Note: Not all the books listed above at Amazon.com are relevant, so
be careful when choosing.
========================================================================
In addition:
You need to read this article:
"Hours at sea, with no points of reference, and no back-up. [Go-fast
pilots] are real experts," says Captain Esaud Becerra, head of
intelligence at the Tumaco naval base. "They have no formal training,
but they never get lost. Sometimes you have to admire them."
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0918/p05s01-woam.html
"TRAFFICKING THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN TO THE UNITED STATES:
The Caribbean has long been an important transit zone for drugs
entering the United States and Europe from South America. The drugs
are transported through the region, to both the United States and
Europe, through a wide variety of routes and methods.
The primary method for smuggling large quantities of cocaine through
the Caribbean to the United States is via maritime vessels. Go-fast
boats (small launches with powerful motors), bulk cargo freighters,
and containerized cargo vessels are the most common conveyances for
moving large quantities of cocaine through the region. Drug
traffickers also routinely transport smaller quantities of cocaine
from Colombia to clandestine landing strips in the Caribbean, using
single or twin-engine aircraft. Traffickers also airdrop cocaine loads
to waiting land vehicles and/or maritime vessels.
Couriers transport smaller quantities of cocaine on commercial flights
from the Caribbean to the United States. Couriers transport cocaine by
concealing small multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine on their person
or in baggage. Couriers also transport small quantities (up to one
kilogram) of cocaine by ingesting the product.
Compared to cocaine, heroin movement through the Caribbean is limited.
Heroin is generally not consumed in the Caribbean, but rather is
transshipped to Puerto Rico or the Continental United States. Almost
all of the heroin transiting the Caribbean originates in Colombia.
Couriers generally transport kilogram quantities of Colombian heroin
on commercial flights from South America to Puerto Rico or the
Continental United States, concealing the heroin on their person or in
baggage. Couriers also transport smaller quantities (up to one
kilogram) of heroin by concealing the heroin through ingestion. The
couriers sometimes make one or two stops at various Caribbean islands
in an effort to mask their original point of departure from law
enforcement.
Jamaica remains the only significant Caribbean source country for
marijuana destined to the United States. Go-fast boats from Jamaica
often transport multi-hundred kilogram quantities of marijuana through
Cuban and Bahamian waters to Florida.
The Caribbean also plays an important role in drug-related money
laundering. Many Caribbean countries have well-developed offshore
banking systems and bank secrecy laws that facilitate money
laundering. In countries with less developed banking systems, money is
often moved through these countries in bulk shipments of cash - the
ill-gotten proceeds of selling illicit drugs in the United States. The
ultimate destination of the currency and/or assets is other Caribbean
countries or South America
A few statistics will illustrate the magnitude of the problem posed by
South American cocaine flowing through the Caribbean to the United
States. The Interagency Assessment of Cocaine Movement (IACM), in
which the DEA participates, provides estimates on the cocaine tonnage
transiting various countries including Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican
Republic, The Bahamas, and to Cuba. The following table of IACM data
provides estimated cocaine flow in metric tons through these countries
to the United States from July 1998 through June 1999"
http://usinfo.state.gov/regional/ar/us-cuba/doj04.htm
"The three primary methods for smuggling drugs into Haiti are
noncommercial air methods, noncommercial maritime activities
(primarily go-fast operations transiting from Colombia to Haiti's
Southern Claw) and containerized cargo on freighters or
commercial/passenger aircraft. As drugs enter Haiti, they are stored
locally until they can be shipped to the United States or Europe.
Drugs are smuggled out of Haiti via coastal freighters or
containerized shipping. The primary shipping routes are:
Directly to the Miami River/South Florida area from one of several
Haitian ports such as Port-au-Prince, Miragoane, St. Marc, Gonaives,
Cap Haitien, or Port de Paix. The drugs are typically secreted in
hidden compartments within coastal freighters.
Transferred overland from Haiti to the Dominican Republic and then
smuggled across the Mona Passage into Puerto Rico via small vessels.
Once in Puerto Rico, the illicit drugs are then hidden in
containerized cargo and shipped to the United States or Europe.
Transferred overland from Haiti to the Dominican Republic and then
smuggled into the United States or Europe via containerized cargo.
Jimani, Pederales, Malpaso, Dajabon, and Pepilo Salcedo are the border
points that are most frequently crossed."
"Between May 1998 and January 2000, approximately 3,850 kilograms of
cocaine has been seized off of 16 vessels coming into the Miami River
from Haiti. In addition, on March 16, 1999, approximately 1.3 million
dollars, which had been destined for Haiti, was seized on the Miami
River off of the M/V Lady Crystal. On January 31, 2000, an additional
$1 million, which was destined for Haiti, was seized"
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2000_hr/ct032100.htm
Thank you for your very interesting question, and if there are any
points you need clarification on, do not hesitate to ask.
All the very best
THX1138
Search strategy included:
caribbean "go fast" drugs
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&as_qdr=all&q=caribbean+%22go+fast%22++drugs |
