ARUBA — In the early hours of Friday morning, November 28, the Maritime Operations Center of the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard received a report about a suspicious boat heading towards Aruba.
Staff at the Aruba Support Station were notified right away and quickly set out in a Metal Shark vessel to assess the situation. At the same time, the Dash-8 aircraft was dispatched to provide support, working together with a Coast Guard patrol unit on land. The Aruban Police Force (KPA) was also alerted and asked to position themselves in the northeastern part of the island.
The Coast Guard aircraft soon located the vessel near Playa Tortuga and immediately passed the information on to both land and sea units. Working together with members of the Police Force, the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard detained five men in total—one Colombian and four Venezuelans.
A large quantity of drugs was also seized during the operation and has since been destroyed.
