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SAN JUAN (Puerto Rico), Jan. 16 (AP) — Two suspected drug dealers were killed in a shootout with federal agents on Puerto Rico’s northeast coast early Sunday, officials said.
Jeffrey Quiñones, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, told The Associated Press that the incident happened shortly after midnight when authorities spotted a suspicious vessel at sea and launched a manhunt.
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Quiñones said the chase ended when the suspected drug dealer opened fire on the federal agents, who returned fire. Two of the six suspects on board were shot dead and the remaining four were arrested, he said. No federal agents were injured.
Quiñones said drugs were found on the boat and in the water, but did not immediately provide further details.
The nationality of the suspect has not been confirmed, he said.
The deadly hunt comes two months after a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent and a suspected drug smuggler were killed in a shootout off Puerto Rico’s southwest coast. During that incident, two other agents were injured and hospitalized.
The FBI is investigating the latest deadly shootout. A spokeswoman did not immediately return a message for comment.
Puerto Rico is a popular transit point for drugs from South America. Agents seized $26 million worth of cocaine off Vieques in October and $9 million worth of cargo from a ship in December during a routine cargo inspection in the capital San Juan. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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