A 32-year-old mariner from Lithuania was arrested after a large amount of cocaine was found in his sailboat, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. Matas Vezauskas was charged with trafficking cocaine. “I want to thank our Special Operations Unit Detectives and K9 Mako as well as our federal law enforcement partners for their hard work in getting these dangerous drugs off our streets,” said Sheriff Rick Ramsay. MCSO assisted federal law enforcement officers during the search of a sailboat at Burdines Waterfront Marina in Marathon on June 12 which led to the seizure of 64 bricks (75.8 kilograms) of cocaine. Vezauskas was the sole occupant of the vessel that allegedly sailed from another country without checking in with the U.S. Border Protection and Customs upon arrival. Federal authorities turned the case over to the Sheriff’s Office for further investigation and Vezauskas was later arrested. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, U.S. Border Patrol, as well as U.S. Customs and Border Protection, assisted in the case.
