Three federal law enforcement agencies boarded a cargo ship headed to St. Thomas in search of contraband but officials of the Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and the Drug Enforcement Administration remained tight-lipped as to what prompted the predawn boarding Monday about a mile south of St. John and whether anything was found.
The vessel was released Monday afternoon.
A Coast Guard spokesman in San Juan initially confirmed the offshore boarding of the vessel Karma early Monday morning but said he could not comment further on the operation that saw the vessel coming into St. Thomas' waterfront under the escort of the federal agencies.
When asked why the vessel was escorted into St. Thomas, he said that the boarding took place offshore and continued as the vessel made its way into St. Thomas so as not to delay the boat's arrival.
A large crowd gathered on the bulkhead as the vessel arrived; heavily armed federal agents could be clearly seen on the cargo ship and on other law enforcement boats on either side of it.
Monday evening, a Coast Guard spokeswoman in San Juan said the vessel
underwent "a standard customs boarding and was released at 2 p.m. this afternoon."
She described the boarding as "standard operating procedure."
