U.S. CUSTOMS NAILS CONTAINERSHIP CREW IN DRUG-SMUGGLING SCHEME

U.S. CUSTOMS NAILS CONTAINERSHIP CREW IN DRUG-SMUGGLING SCHEME

   U.S. Customs agents this week ended a drug smuggling scheme near the Port of Baltimore, which involved several crew members of the containership, “Crowley Lion.”

   According to Customs and investigators from other federal and state enforcement agencies, the crew members of the “Crowley Lion” had recruited other crew members to import and deliver cocaine to the United States.

   As part of this High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, Customs agents observed a small vessel south of the Key Bridge in the Chesapeake Bay late Tuesday. Agents also saw the “Crowley Lion” depart South Locust Point Marine Terminal. When the vessel passed under the bridge, two crew members on the “Crowley Lion” dropped duffel bags of cocaine, valued at $2.6 million, into the water, which were picked up by two men in the small boat. Customs arrested the men of the small boat at a nearby marina.

   In total, authorities arrested four Philippine nationals: Virata A. Lagac of Baltimore; Ariel V. Sioson of Rosedale, Md.; Romeo Catayas of Baltimore; and Reynaldo Siosun Luna of Owings Mill, Md.