More than 1,500 kilos of cocaine seized

SANTO DOMINGO (AP):

Drug enforcement officials in the Dominican Republic say they have seized a large amount of cocaine from two boats in the Caribbean in an operation with United States assistance.

The National Drug Control Agency says the boats had come from Colombia and were intercepted about 50 miles (80 kilometres) south of Saona Island on the southern coast. Authorities seized more than 1,500 kilograms of cocaine and detained four people.

The agency said in a statement yesterday that both the US Drug Enforcement Administration and US Coast Guard took part in the operation. The Dominican Republic has become a major trans-shipment point for cocaine and other drugs bound for the US via nearby Puerto Rico, as well as to Europe.