Divers from the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Coast Guard and the Tobago Cays Marine Park discovered an undisclosed quantity of cocaine off the coast of Union Island.
The package was discovered on the sea floor near the alleged shoot-out between local police and Venezuelan men on a fishing trawler.
The men tied the package to an anchor and threw it overboard. Customs Guard Othneil Whyte and Rapid Response Unit Officer Corporal DeShong boarded the vessel, which was anchored near the Clifton dock at Union Island.
During the firefight, the package was thrown overboard, resulting in the deaths of three of the nine foreigners and one injury.
Whyte, a customs guard for two decades, was found floating in the sea and declared dead at the Union Island Health Centre.
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves and top security and government officials visited the island earlier on Monday and indicated that a coroner’s inquiry would take place.
The drugs and vessel El Amigo Fayâ were brought up to mainland St. Vincent by the coast guard on Monday evening, and the other five men aboard the vessel have been taken into custody.
