COLUMBUS – The federal prosecutor in Columbus says a case against four alleged overseas cocaine traffickers will be tried in Ohio’s capital city under a new initiative.
Ben Glassman, the U.S. attorney for the southern half of Ohio that includes Columbus, announced charges Wednesday against three men from Ecuador and one from Mexico taken into custody by the U.S. Coast Guard Aug. 18 in the Pacific Ocean about 475 miles northwest of the Galapagos Islands.
The government also seized 25 packages it says the men threw overboard which contained about 1,580 pounds of cocaine worth $25 million.
Glassman says this the first case in which the Southern District of Ohio is seeking to prosecute defendants captured in international waters. He said the local prosecution is part of an effort to expand his office’s role fighting drugs. He says the Justice Department coordinates how prosecutions are meted out.
According to court documents, the Coast Guard cutter James was dispatched to stop and board the dual engine speedboat the men were using to transport the cocaine.
The James launched a helicopter and two patrol craft to approach the boat, which is when the men began to jettison numerous packages while attempting to flee, court records stated.
The Coast Guard helicopter fired warning shots in an attempt to halt the flight, and when those warning shots went unheeded, the helicopter disabled the boat and one of the patrol craft took control.
Coast Guard personnel collected the 25 packages that had been thrown from the boat.