Drug Bust on Splendour of the Seas

By Wendy Laursen 03-23-2015 08:10:00

Argentine police have discovered 15kg (33 pounds) of pure cocaine on Royal Caribbean Line’s Splendour of the Seas. Customs officials seized the drug, worth over a million dollars, from two crew members when the ship docked in Buenos Aires.

The two men, one a Croatian and the other a Chilean traveling on an Australian passport, are accused of having packets of cocaine taped to their bodies. Sniffer dogs discovered more of the drug in the pair’s cabin.

The ship arrived in Buenos Aires on Monday from Uruguay en route for Europe. It will continue on its voyage.

Earlier this month, five Norwegian Cruise Line crew members were arrested after allegedly smuggling 7kg (15 pounds) of cocaine on the Norwegian Sun as it arrived in Tampa in the U.S. from Roatan, Honduras.

Abuse of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs costs the U.S. more than $700 billion annually in costs related to crime, lost work productivity and health care. Rehab International estimates that 15,000 Americans die every year due to cocaine use and complications that result.

Cocaine is a powerfully addictive stimulant drug made from the leaves of the coca plant which native to South America. Most of the world’s cocaine is produced there.

Cocaine produces short-term euphoria, energy, and talkativeness in addition to potentially dangerous physical effects like raising heart rate and blood pressure. According to the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse, with repeated use, cocaine can cause long-term changes in the brain. Tolerance often develops so many cocaine abusers report diminished pleasure. Some will then increase their dose in an attempt to intensify and prolong their high, but this can increase the risk of adverse psychological or physiological effects.