Customs officials stop boat trying to import marijuana

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BOCA RATON, Fla. - U.S. Customs officials stopped a boat attempting to smuggle 900 pounds of marijuana into the country and arrested the two men on board.

Officials on a U.S. Customs and Border Protection jet from Homestead saw a go-fast boat traveling toward Florida's Gold Coast on Sunday evening.

Homeland Security officials intercepted the suspicious boat and demanded that it stop, but it fled, and two U.S. Customs boats joined in the chase.

Officials stopped the boat minutes later about 8.5 miles offshore, and found $900,000 worth of 60-pound marijuana bales.

U.S. Immigration officials arrested Kenrick Brown, 33, and Gary Charles Russell, 32, both of the Bahamas. They have been charged with attempting to illegally import narcotics.

Customs spokesman Zachary Mann said the men were being held at the Federal Detention Center in Miami, awaiting a pre-trial hearing.

Information on whether the men had retained an attorney or were appointed a public defender was not available late Monday.

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