With Increased Surveillance is Increase in Wet Drop Seizures

Recently, Bennett noted a significant uptick in illegal maritime activity reported by their counterparts in Mexico. Over the past few months, Mexico has seized around four tons of cocaine. Meanwhile, Guatemala and Honduras have reported nearly double that amount. With the Coast Guard’s enhanced surveillance system, Belize is now better equipped to intercept these “wet drops” that might have previously slipped through the cracks.

 

Rear Admiral Elton Bennett, Commandant, Belize Coast Guard

“We know that there’s an increase in maritime activities. What we’re trying to do is to improve our surveillance, and that’s why we’ve acquired these drones, um, to support that. We’ve improved our maritime surveillance capability in other areas, using cameras and other, um, technologies, but also relying a lot on intelligence. It’s very difficult tracking these small boats coming from South America with drugs. It’s at least in the air, there’s an air radar system that can pick up these vessels, these aircraft. For us, it’s much more challenging, um, trying to pinpoint one of those, um, drug vessels on the surface.”