Coast Guard seizes 35 ‘bales’ of cocaine and charges 2 crew members aboard Mexican go-fast boat

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Two crew members of a go-fast boat were arrested after a Royal Canadian Naval ship recovered 35 bales of cocaine while patrolling with a U.S. Coast Guard detachment off the coast of Mexico.

Julio Contreras Bueno and Christian Garay Ochoa, each of Mexico, appeared before Magistrate G. Alan Teague in St. Thomas for their initial appearance after being charged by Indictment with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine while on board a vessel subject to jurisdiction of the United States, U.S. Attorney Delia L. Smith said. According to court records, on September 5, 2024, during a routine patrol in international waters in the Eastern Pacific, a Royal Canadian Naval ship with a United States Coast Guard detachment onboard intercepted a go-fast vessel after it was sighted approximately 427 nautical miles southwest of Acapulco, Mexico.

The vessel, which was dead in the water floating adrift with bales visible on the deck, displayed no indicia of nationality and had no flag flown. The Coast Guard detachment conducted a right of visit boarding on the vessel as it was suspected of illicit maritime activity. The vessel had a large hole in its bow and Julio Contreras Bueno, Christian Garay Ocho and Francisco Hernandez Penaloza were found onboard. A claim of Mexican nationality was made by the crew, but the Mexican government could neither confirm nor deny nationality of the vessel.