LOS ANGELES PORT POLICE SEIZE APPROXIMATELY
500 POUNDS OF MARIJUANA IN SAN PEDRO BAY

SAN PEDRO, Calif. –March 16, 2017 – On the afternoon of March 14th, Los Angeles Port Police Marine Unit officers while on patrol in Los Angeles Harbor discovered an unoccupied boat at the Cabrillo Beach Launch Ramp. An investigation revealed several hundred pounds of marijuana in the boat. Los Angeles Port Police Detectives assigned to L.A.B.E.S.T. (Los Angeles Border Enforcement Security Task Force) are continuing the investigation in collaboration with Port Police.

The LA BEST is tasked with identifying, targeting, and reducing security vulnerabilities affecting the Los Angeles/ Long Beach seaport complex, the Southern California coastline, and the waterways and transportation infrastructure. LA BEST is made up of personnel from nine federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Coast Guard Criminal Investigations Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles Port Police, the Long Beach Police Department, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

The Los Angeles Port Police is one of the nation’s few law enforcement agencies dedicated exclusively to seaport activities. Founded in 1911, the agency enforces federal, state, and local laws applicable to Port operations, including cargo protection, environmental impact investigations, vessel traffic control and narcotics interdiction.