Feds say they stopped boat with 188 kilos of cocaine off Pompano Beach
Two men from The Bahamas face cocaine-smuggling charges after U.S. Customs agents stopped their boat off Pompano Beach last week and found almost 190 kilograms of cocaine stowed on board, according to federal prosecutors.
And — according to the criminal complaint filed against Alfred Lynton Laing and Runo Traveeno Laing — they had been on the feds’ radar since a drug bust by the Drug Enforcement Administration during the summer.
Around 11 a.m. Saturday, agents with U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations received word a suspicious vessel was on its way to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, the complaint states.
Agents in patrol boats stopped the 32-foot Contender center console — with the name The Salesman’s Ship written on the back — about four nautical miles off Hillsboro Inlet in Pompano Beach. Agents immediately smelled caulk and fresh paint and noticed that the part of the vessel’s floor where the fuel tank should be located was cut and resealed in a rectangular shape, according to the complaint.
Agents cuffed the Laings, who are cousins, and drove the boat to a dock in Fort Lauderdale to conduct a search of the Contender, the complaint states. Agents went to work on the boat’s floor with crowbars and screwdrivers after a police dog began sniffing the area, according to the complaint.
One agent left the vessel and returned with a sledgehammer. According to the complaint, when he walked past Runo Laing with the tool, Laing muttered, “Oh man.”
Once through the floor, agents found 188 individually wrapped packages weighing a kilogram each of cocaine, the complaint states. They also found six cellphones and two laptop computers, the complaint states.
According to the complaint, after being read his rights, Alfred Laing provided agents with the boat owner’s name, which has not been released. He told them he met a man in The Bahamas a week earlier and arranged to ship the cocaine to Fort Lauderdale.
Upon arrival in South Florida, he was supposed to pick up a van and deliver the cocaine to a rental house, DEA agents said in their complaint. He said Runo did not know about the drugs on board the Contender, according to the complaint.
Runo Laing also told agents who owned the boat, and stated he did not know the boat was loaded with coke, according to the complaint. He said he went with his cousin to get the boat serviced in South Florida, agents said.
According to the DEA, agents arrested a man during a traffic stop in June. In his car, agents found 10 kilograms of cocaine and $200,000 in cash in the trunk, the complaint states.
After searching the man’s cellphone, agents found text messages containing the same address of the rental house where Alfred Laing told authorities he was supposed to deliver the cocaine, the complaint states.
Both Laings are scheduled to be arraigned on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine on Jan. 21, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Their attorneys could not immediately be reached for comments.
