#3564: Cocaine Found Hidden in Ship (fwd)

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

From:nozier@tradewind.net

Thursday May 11 7:18 AM ET 
 Cocaine Found Hidden in Ship

 MIAMI (AP) - Federal inspectors found about $1 million worth of cocaine
on a freighter that arrived from Haiti, hidden inside a specially
designed water compartment, authorities said Thursday.Inspectors became
suspicious shortly after the Layenda, a 150-foot long freighter
registered, arrived on the Miami River on Wednesday with no visible
cargo.During a routine inspection of the ship, they found a metal wall
in a water storage area that did not belong there, Customs spokesman
Zach Mann said. The compartment contained about 150 pounds of cocaine
wrapped in blocks, officials said. No arrests were made, but the eight
crew members - all foreign nationals - were turned over to immigration
officials for possible deportation, Mann said. In recent months, Customs
officials have made numerous seizures of cocaine found in hidden
compartments on freighters arriving from Haiti.