MIAMI, April 27, CMC – United States law enforcement authorities say they have nabbed two-high speed boats in the Caribbean Sea with 2,200 kilograms of cocaine estimated at US$362 million.

US Customs and Border Protection officials said a Miami-based P-3 reconnaissance plane detected the boats last week in the Western Caribbean Sea, off Panama.

“One vessel abandoned the contraband before arriving on shore, while the second go-fast (boat) was seized nearby,” the statement said Thursday, adding “a US Navy vessel operating in the area retrieved 89 bales of cocaine from the scene”.

It said that the reconnaissance planes, since last October, have aided in the seizure of nearly three billion dollars in cocaine.

“By providing surveillance of known air, land, and maritime smuggling routes in an area that is twice the size of the continental US, the P-3s detect, monitor and disrupt smuggling activities before they reach shore,” the statement said.

It gave no details as to whether anyone had been detained as a result of the latest cocaine bust.