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Bellingham Coast Guard team finds amphetamines, pills, cash on boat near Anacortes

By Tyler Urke

turke@bhamherald.com

A 32-foot cabin cruiser sits at a dock near Anacortes, Wash., after a Coast Guard boarding team discovered a distributable amount of prescription pills, amphetamines and cash on the recreational vessel during a routine safety boarding of the boat, Aug. 9, 2017.
A 32-foot cabin cruiser sits at a dock near Anacortes, Wash., after a Coast Guard boarding team discovered a distributable amount of prescription pills, amphetamines and cash on the recreational vessel during a routine safety boarding of the boat, Aug. 9, 2017. United States Coast Guard Courtesy to The Bellingham Herald

Members of the Coast Guard Station Bellingham found amphetamines, prescription pills and cash on Wednesday evening on a recreational boat near Anacortes, according to a news release.

The team detained the two people on board and towed the 32-foot vessel to Anacortes where operatives from the Skagit County Drug Task Force took custody of the drugs, cash and suspects.

During the routine safety boarding, a boarding officer noticed what appeared to be a black, tar-like substance. Further investigation yielded a chemical that tested positive for amphetamines, according to the news release. A significant distributable amount of prescription pills and cash were also found, officials said.

“We detain people when we determine if there is an intent to sell,” Petty Officer 3rd Class Fernando Pratesi said in a phone interview Thursday. “There has to be a lot more contraband than what someone can consume.”

This story was originally published August 10, 2017 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Bellingham Coast Guard team finds amphetamines, pills, cash on boat near Anacortes."

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