11 Arrests, Seizure of Two Ships Climax 16-Month Drug Inquiry

A 16-month investigation into a suspected oceangoing drug ring ended Wednesday with the pursuit and capture of one vessel at sea off the Southern California coast and the seizure of another in Los Angeles Harbor, the Coast Guard announced.

Seven suspects were taken into custody and 11 tons of marijuana seized aboard the 65-foot Gary Lyn at its Wilmington berth by U.S. Customs Service and Los Angeles Harbor Patrol officers shortly before 6 a.m.

One official estimated the street value of the marijuana at $22 million and said it was one of the largest seizures in the history of the port.

Four other men were taken into custody Wednesday afternoon from the 68-foot Ocean Joy, about 80 miles west of San Diego. They had reportedly ignored orders from the Coast Guard cutter Point Divide to heave to, despite the firing of two warning shots over their ship’s bow. Neither shot struck the vessel.

The crew of the Ocean Joy apparently tried to scuttle it, customs officials said, and a damage control crew from the cutter was attempting late Wednesday to keep it afloat. Coast Guard Petty Officer Patricia Milton said in Long Beach that it was not certain whether the Ocean Joy could be kept from sinking.

“It’s a matter of whether they can pump the water out faster than it comes in,” she said.

A Navy ship was standing by with the cutter. Officials said that the Ocean Joy was believed to be the mother ship bringing contraband drugs to an offshore point, where they were transferred to other vessels carrying it ashore.

A Coast Guard spokesman said that the Point Divide was following the Ocean Joy and ordered it to halt about 2 p.m.

Identities of the suspects were not immediately available.

There was no indication that any drugs had been confiscated from the Ocean Joy.

Inquiry Began in 1983

The investigation into the alleged smuggling ring was reportedly begun in October, 1983, by the Coast Guard, the U.S. Customs Service, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the Los Angeles Harbor Patrol and the Los Angeles Police Department as part of the Operation Pacific task force.

Officials said they would offer details about the investigation at a news conference this morning at the Customs House on Terminal Island.