Yacht Carrying Tiny Amount of Pot Confiscated

MIAMI â€”  The Coast Guard seized a 133-foot yacht valued at $2.5 million after finding one-tenth of an ounce of marijuana aboard, claiming the vessel under a “zero toleranceâ€� crackdown on drugs.

The Ark Royal, registered in Delaware with its home port in Philadelphia, was seized Saturday in international waters between Mexico and Cuba after Coast Guard officers found the butt of a marijuana cigarette in a trash can and a small amount of marijuana in a stateroom, Coast Guard officials here said.

The Coast Guard can legally board U.S.-flagged vessels in international waters. The Coast Guard said it was making a routine document and safety inspection when the marijuana cigarette butt was spotted in the trash can.

No One Arrested

None of the six people aboard the yacht were arrested and prosecution was unlikely because none were actually in possession of the drug, Coast Guard Petty Officer Al Diaz said.

Coast Guard Lt. John Felker said that neither the yacht’s registered owner, Michael J. Rogerson, described by the Coast Guard as the president and chief shareholder of Tomima Corp., nor any passengers were on board. Apparently only the crew was on board.

The yacht and crew arrived in Key West late Sunday under Coast Guard escort and it was turned over to the U.S. Customs Service. The Guard can keep the yacht or sell it and keep the proceeds.

Under the zero tolerance policy, the government has warned that any vessel or vehicle carrying controlled substances into the country would be subject to seizure, no matter how small the amount. In the case of drugs found in customs searches, passports and travel documents would be seized and used as evidence in prosecution.

“This new policy should be taken as fair warning to anyone who is using or transporting any detectable amount of drugs on our waterways,� Transportation Secretary James H. Burnley IV said last month in a speech in Miami. “We are dead serious about slamming the door on the drug threat in this country.�

Coast Guard spokesman Lou Parris said the Coast Guard has seized seven other boats--including two shrimp boats--in the Florida district since April 15. The Ark Royal, Parris said, is believed to be the most valuable of the boats seized so far. About a dozen boats have been seized nationally, he said.

In one of the other seven boardings, the Coast Guard found one marijuana cigarette, a marijuana cigarette butt and some ash, Parris said.

Under the new directive, Parris said, “some things that we had been, by policy, overlooking in the past, we are no longer overlooking.� Asked to elaborate, Parris said: “Under the previous policy, the primary thrust was to concentrate on the smugglers, where we’re looking for large enough amounts that it was obvious they were importing.�

Severe Budget Cuts

The seizure policy comes at a time of severe budget cuts imposed on the Coast Guard. As a result of the January cutbacks, Parris said the Florida Coast Guard district has been forced to decommission several of its older vessels.

“Our drug patrols were affected by the cutback by about 50%,� he said. “We’ve cut cutter days, which means days we patrol. I don’t have a total of the patrol days scheduled per month. It’s approximately half as many boats out on patrol as we did have.�

However, Parris said the Coast Guard is making more seizures.

“Basically, we get between 100 and 120 busts a year on smugglers. In order to do that, we board between 6,000 and 8,000 vessels a year. We’re still making as many of those boardings as we can. The only difference is, if there are small amounts, what sometimes is classified as recreational use, we’re making seizures at that point, rather than letting them go.�