The 'Joseph Napier' offloaded 182 kilograms of cocaine and transferred custody of two male smugglers to federal law enforcement authorities in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, on March 8, 2024. The British Royal Navy HMS 'Trent (P224)', operating with a Coast Guard LEDET onboard, had seized the contraband and apprehended two smugglers, Dominican Republic nationals, following the interdiction of a go-fast vessel in Caribbean Sea waters southwest coast of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, on March 3 as a result of interagency efforts in support of the Coast Guard’s Western Hemisphere Strategy and Operation Unified Resolve. The Drug Enforcement Administration was leading the investigation in this case. Report with photo: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/3701780/coast-guard-offloads-45-million-in-seized-cocaine-transfers-custody-of-2-smuggl/
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SYMPHONY OF THE SEAS
A Royal Caribbean cruise employee is accused of hiding cameras inside bathrooms of passenger cabins to spy on guests, including underage girls. Arvin Joseph Mirasol, 34, was arrested on March 3, 2024, on federal charges of production and possession of child sexual abuse material after the 'Symphony of the Seas' arrived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in the U.S. District Court of Florida. He also faces six counts of voyeurism in state court. A guest staying in a cabin where Mirasol was an attendant found a camera in the bathroom Feb 25. It was “affixed to the counter underneath the sink," according to the affidavit. She reported it to ship officials, who sent security to the room to investigate. Mirasol, who is a citizen of the Philippines, was detained on the ship until March 3, when it docked in Fort Lauderdale. He was questioned by agents from Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection and the Broward Sheriff's Office. Agents discovered “numerous videos of naked females” as well as images of child sexual abuse while looking at his phone, an SD card and USB stick. One of the videos showed Mirasol installing a camera in a guest cabin's bathroom. In one five-minute video, a 10-year-old girl entered the bathroom, removed her clothes and got into the shower. Mirasol told investigators he had been placing cameras in bathrooms since he began working on the ship in Dec 2023. He admitted he knew it was illegal to film underage girls. In addition to the hidden cameras, Mirasol told agents he went into rooms while guests were taking showers and hid under the bed. He would then record them getting dressed, according to the affidavit. Royal Caribbean said in a statement that the company has fired Mirasol and is cooperating with the investigation. Mirasol is represented by Robert Berube of the federal public defender's office, who said in an email that he would not comment on the case. Mirasol remained in the Broward County Jail on March 6.
FIOR DI LEVANTE
In the afternoon of March 7, 2024, the Port Authority of Zakynthos was informed that a 50-year-old patient, who had boarded the 'Fior di Levante' with an ambulance, needed immediate hospital care. The ship, which was sailing from Zakynthos to Kyllini, returned to the port of Zakynthos, where the ambulance disembarked safely and the woman was transferred to the Zakynthos General Hospital. The ship set sail again to carry out its scheduled route.
MARGARITAVILLE A.S.P
A bartender on the 'Margaritaville at Sea', who snuck into a cabin and sexually assaulted a passenger has been sentenced to two years behind bars. Hoobesh Kumar Dookhy, who is in his 20s, had faced the possibility of life in prison on a federal charge of sexual abuse, but pleaded guilty in Oct 2023, to one count of abusive sexual contact. During a recent court hearing, his attorney Peter Birch argued for an even lighter sentence, saying the victim in the May 2023 incident was scantily clad and “had no desire to escape” from him. The US District Judge Aileen Cannon sentenced Dookhy to two years in the slammer — one year more than Birch and federal sentencing guidelines advised but what prosecutors had asked for. Assistant US Attorney Brian Ralston rejected Dookhy’s claim that the woman gave Dookhy her stateroom key, arguing instead that he grabbed it while serving her drinks on the Jimmy Buffett-themed cruise. The victim’s roommate recorded the assault and reported it to security the following morning. Investigators found the key in the pocket of Dookhy’s work vest, as well as selfies he took beside the woman while she slept. Dookhy, who pleaded guilty to one count of abusive sexual contact, will not be required to register as a sex offender. He later admitted to having sex with the woman but insisted that their encounter was consensual. Dookhy avoided a trial by jury and took the plea deal, which dropped the worse of the two charges he faced. The married roommate from West Virginia filed a lawsuit against the Classica cruise line claiming that she had also been assaulted by Dookhy. She was initially classified as a witness to the first woman’s assault, but decided to file her lawsuit after Dookhy’s conviction. The victim and her cabinmate have filed separate lawsuits against the ship and its parent corporation, Classica Cruise Line. Margaritaville at Sea Paradise Cruise. The roommate “became pregnant, and was forced to terminate the pregnancy from which she suffered serious complications,” according to the lawsuit and is seeking a jury trial and $75,000 in damages from Classica. Dookhy, who is scheduled to be released before his 28th birthday, will remain on supervised release for five years and must register as a sex offender, according to court records.
MSC MUSICA
An 84-year-old passenger suffered a heart attack aboard the 'MSC Música' when it was sailing near Punta del Este on March 6, 2024. Navy personnel asked the Maritime Rescue Association (ADES) for assistance after 7 p.m., and the Ädes 30' proceeded to the vessel and carried out the medical evacuation of the stabilized patient 45 minutes after the alert. Once at the port, he was transferred in an ambulance to a healthcare center.