Authorities' 12-Hour Boat Chase Pays Off

Authorities in the Dominican Republic said Tuesday that they chased a boat for more than 12 hours and discovered 1.5 tons of cocaine aboard it. It's one of the Caribbean country's biggest seizures in history, said Carlos Devers, spokesperson for the nation's Anti-Drug Agency, per the AP. Helicopters, boats, and cars were involved in the chase, which began Monday off the country's south coast near Pedernales. It ended with the arrest of three Dominicans and one Colombian, Devers said.

Authorities also seized items including a cellphone, more than a dozen jerrycans of fuel, a small cooler of water and food, and a backpack with a change of clothes. In late December, authorities seized nearly 9.5 tons of cocaine worth $250 million, marking the largest seizure in the country's history. The second biggest seizure was reported in 2006, with 2.8 tons of cocaine found at a busy port. Overall, officials in the DR, long considered a major transit point for drugs bound for Europe, seized more than 46 tons of drugs last year.