Royal Caribbean crewmembers arrested for cocaine possession

Royal Caribbean crewmembers arrested for cocaine possession

A pair of Royal Caribbean International crewmembers were busted for drug possession yesterday in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

The crewmembers were both Jamaican nationals working on the 1,950-passenger Grandeur of the Seas, according to a report that first surfaced in the Jamaican Observer.

The bust was confirmed yesterday by Royal Caribbean, which said that while the Grandeur was docked in Montego Bay on Feb. 24, Jamaican authorities detained a crewmember and found that he was in possession of 18 kilos of cocaine.

Authorities then boarded the ship and found an additional 15 kilos in the cabin of a different crewmember, Royal Caribbean said.

The cruise line said it was cooperating fully with authorities during this investigation and "will continue providing any assistance necessary to prosecute these individuals to the fullest extent of the law."

The Grandeur, sailing a seven-night itinerary from Colon, Panama, had arrived from a call the day before in Cartagena, Colombia.

This is the fourth time since December that Royal Caribbean has been in the news for drug busts on its ships.

In early February, an American passenger on the 5,400-passenger Allure of the Seas was arrested in St. Thomas for allegedly selling drugs to fellow passengers on a the largest ever gay cruise, a full charter of the world's biggest cruise vessel.

There have been two incidents in the past two months of drugs and the 2,252-passenger Enchantment of the Seas.

Customs agents allegedly found heroin and cocaine in the possession of an Enchantment crew member after getting a tip from a ship's security officer in late December, and less than a month later, federal agents have found nearly $100,000 worth of heroin and cocaine in a locker on the ship in an employee area.

Royal Caribbean said in a statement that it "maintains a strict zero tolerance policy regarding illegal drugs on its ships. We take various steps to prevent the transport of illegal narcotics, including working closely with law enforcement in all of our ports of call."