'Grocery' boat intercepted by Coastguard

THE coastguard on Sunday intercepted a pirogue laden with grocery items which the security unit said was manned by a crew of Venezuelan nationals at about 3 am in the Gulf of Paria.

A release stated that while on patrol duty, the pirogue containing 14 Venezuelans among them 11 men and three women 370 metres south of Huevos Island.

The vessel was searched and officers found 29 blocks of cheddar cheese, ten bags of meat, a box of cigarettes containing 50 packs, 36 bottles of alcohol, three bags of avocado, a box of cured tobacco and two white parcels of cured tobacco.

Believing the vessel to be operating in contravention of Customs and Excise laws, the pirogue and its occupants were taken to coastguard headquarters in Staubles Bay, Chaguaramas for further processing.

The items were handed over to officers of the Customs and Excise Division of the Ministry of Finance. The vessel and its 14 passengers were instructed to return to Venezuela and were escorted out of TT's territorial waters by a coastguard cutter.