A 40-year-old Puerto Rican boat captain has been sentenced to 87 months in federal prison following a dramatic pre-dawn maritime pursuit that ended with the recovery of 65 kilograms of cocaine in waters west of St. Thomas.
Carlos Cruz Resto was convicted of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Chief U.S. District Court Judge Robert A. Molloy imposed the sentence in District Court on St. Thomas on Thursday, along with five years of supervised release after his prison term and a $100 special assessment.
The incident occurred on July 21, 2025, at approximately 3:00 a.m., when U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations detected a vessel operating without navigational lights near Culebra, Puerto Rico. The boat was heading eastward toward St. Thomas when federal agents spotted it running dark on radar and surveillance systems.
AMO personnel deployed an interceptor vessel from their St. Thomas base to intercept the suspect boat. By the time agents located it just west of Savana Island, an uninhabited cay off St. Thomas's western point, the vessel had reversed direction and was racing back toward Culebra at high speed.
When federal interdiction agents approached with flashing lights, Cruz Resto accelerated further. His companion aboard began hurling heavy duffel bags into the ocean to dispose of the cargo as the boat fled through open water.
Federal agents fired tactical warning flares across the bow to stop the pursuit. Cruz Resto shut down the engines, and both men were taken into custody.
Agents then recovered two duffel bags floating in the water west of Savana Island. Inside were 65 individually wrapped packages of white powder. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's Mid-Atlantic Laboratory later confirmed the contents as approximately 65 kilograms, or 143 pounds, of pure cocaine.
The investigation involved CBP Air and Marine Operations and the DEA. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erik Tate and Criminal Chief Kyle Payne.
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