Three Men, Including Colombian Fisherman, Charged Over $703M Cocaine Bust Off Jamaica's South Coast

Three men, one of them a Colombian fisherman, have been hit with a raft of narcotics charges after lawmen seized a sizeable haul of suspected cocaine off Jamaica's southern shoreline last week.

Those charged are Jonothan Daluqua Latarda, 48, a fisherman from Riococha, Colombia; Delbert Passelle, 48, also known as 'Glen,' a boat captain from Cove District, Lucea, Hanover; and Leroy Donovan Holding, 42, otherwise called 'Bud,' a fisherman from Poorman's Corner, Yallahs, St. Thomas.

Each of the accused has been charged with possession of cocaine, dealing in cocaine, trafficking cocaine, importing cocaine, and conspiracy to import cocaine. Latarda faces an additional charge of illegal entry.

The charges arise from a joint operation on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, when members of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Coast Guard stopped a vessel roughly 20 miles off Portland Ridge. During the interception, the team recovered 37 knitted bags holding 1,053 rectangular parcels of a substance believed to be cocaine, with a combined weight of about 1,172.4 kilogrammes.

The haul carries an estimated street value of JMD$703,000,000.

According to reports, the Coast Guard crew was conducting a routine maritime patrol when the boat was flagged down and its occupants detained on reasonable suspicion of breaching the Dangerous Drugs Act. The vessel, the three suspects and the contraband were then escorted to the JDF Coast Guard Base at Port Royal, Kingston, where officers attached to the Firearms and Narcotics Investigation Division (FNID) were called in.

Forensic investigators from FNID later processed the scene, examining and cataloguing the contents of the knitted bags while the accused were present. On Wednesday, April 29, 2026, buccal swabs were collected from each man at the Kingston Central Police Station before the charges were formally laid.

The trio is set to appear in the Corporate Area Criminal Court on Thursday, May 7, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. Investigations remain active.