Read and discuss the text.

U.S. SEIZES 13 TONS OF COCAINE IN PACIFIC

The Moscow Times, May 16, 2003

SAN DIEGO — The Belize-registered Svesda Maru was one poor fishing vessel - it had no rods, reels or nets on board, the cargo hold was virtually empty and it was "fishing" in waters so barren that no one fishes there.

But it did have a cargo far, far more precious than fluke and flounder: officials said Monday they found just over 13 tons of cocaine stashed in its fuel tanks.

The discovery aboard the ship, seized May 3 about 800 kilometres off Acapulco, Mexico, was the second such bust in the eastern Pacific in less than two months and signals a growing increase in drug-trafficking in that area, Vice Admiral Ray Kiutta of the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Command said at a news conference in San Diego.

A U.S. Customs Service jet discovered the suspicious vessel in late April when it was observed "fishing" in an area of the Pacific not used for fishing. After tracking the 46-metre Svesda Maru for several days, customs turned the probe over to the Coast Guard, which seized the ship.

After searching the vessel for five days, a crew from a Coast Guard cutter found the cocaine in fuel tanks beneath fish holds that were virtually empty, Riutta said. There was no sign of fishing gear aboard the vessel.

"That's what really aroused our suspicions - a boat that wasn't really fishing," he said. With its crew of 10 Russians and Ukrainians, the ship was towed to San Diego. The 10 crew members were taken into federal custody and may face arraignment on smuggling charges. If convicted, they could be sentenced to between 10 years and life in prison and a $4 million fine, officials said.

"This is certainly the largest Coast Guard bust in maritime history," said Coast Guard spokeswoman Petty Officer Jamie Devitt-Cliacon. The smugglers on the boat must have had permission from Mexico's Arellano-Felix drug-trafficking organization to be transporting cocaine so close to its territory, said Errol Chavez, agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's San Diego office.

"This is some indication that there is direct involvement or some kind of association between Russian organized crime and members of the Arellano-Felix organization," Chavez said.

Edward Jurith, acting director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, praised the seizure and said it underscored the effectiveness of close coordination between U.S. government agencies and countries such as Belize.

"This is a huge amount of cocaine that will never reach the streets of theUnited States," Jurith said in a statement. Riutta said he believed traffickers were turning away from the Caribbean waters through which drugs are traditionally smuggled andrelyingmorefrequently onthePacific, presenting drug-enforcement agents with "a new challenge."

"Every time we come up with a new method, they come up with a way to 5 counter it," he said. "It's very frustrating. There's an awful lot of traffic out there." Coast Guard officials believe the shipment of more than 13 tons was bound for Mexico or Colombia, from which cartels would have used sophisticated distribution systems to transport it to the United States.

Riutta said cocaine seizures in 2001 easily promised to break last year's record of 55,340 kilograms. Already the Coast Guard has seized 49,900 kilograms, he said.

Eighty percent of those seizures occurred in the eastern Pacific under his command, he said, adding, "It's a cat-and-mouse game."

The cocaine intercepted May 3 plus the approximately seven tons of the drug found in March aboard a smaller Belize-flagged fishing boat called the Forever My Friend had an estimated street value of more than $500 million, Riutta said.

Discussion.

a) Find the English equivalents for the following words and expressions:

припрятать в топливных баках; поимка с поличным; арестовать; обвине­ние в контрабанде; штраф; торговля наркотиками; отлаженные меха­низмы распределения наркотиков; перехватить кокаин.

b) Scan the article and reproduce the sentences with the following words and phrases:

to stash cocaine in fuel tanks, bust, to take into custody, to face arraignment on smuggling charges, a fine, drug-trafficking, sophisticated systems of distribution, to intercept cocaine, an estimated street value.

c) Answer the questions and give your reasons:

1) Where was the fishing vessel intercepted?

2) What was more "precious than fluke and flounder" on the ship?

3) What did this bust signal?

4) How long had the suspicious vessel been under observation? What do you think might have betrayed the boat?

5) How was Russia allegedly involved into this smuggling?

6) How did the officials assess the operation?

d) Role-play the following situation: a reporter from "The New York Times" interviews Edward Jurith about the seizure.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14