AIR BRIDGE DENIAL: OCTOBER 2008 PROGRAM UPDATE

UNCLAS BOGOTA 004265 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPARTMENT FOR INL/LP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SNAR PREL MOPS MASS PGOV CO SUBJECT: AIR BRIDGE DENIAL: OCTOBER 2008 PROGRAM UPDATE REF: 2003 STATE 265910 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. This is the monthly Air Bridge Denial (ABD) activity report for October, 2008, as required by Reftel. The Government of Colombia (GOC) sorted 6262 tracks during October. Seven were Unknown, Assumed Suspect (UAS). There was one Phase II event where the aircraft departed Colombian airspace for Venezuela. There were two events in missions in Support of Suppression of Illegal Maritime Traffic (SSIMT) that ended in a law enforcement end game with two vessels and 1.1 Metric Ton of cocaine impounded. Four crewmembers were arrested. END SUMMARY. -------------- Tracks -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In October 2008, there were 6262 air tracks over Colombia of which seven were declared Unknown, Assumed Suspect (UAS). Host Nation responded to all seven. Two were not located by the tracker aircraft. Two were visually identified over the Caribbean and the information was passed on to Central American and Caribbean Law Enforcement Agencies. Two landed in Colombia and Colombian National Police and Colombian Army personnel responded to the landing sites and impounded the aircraft. No illegal substances were found. The remaining UAS was intercepted as it was flying from Central America to Venezuela and overflew the La Guajira peninsula of Colombia. Colombian Air Force intercepted the aircraft with an SR-560 tracker and an A-37 aircraft. Phase I was accomplished with no response from the UAS. The event ended after getting approval for phase two due to the UAS entering Venezuelan airspace. -------------- SSIMT -------------- ¶3. (SBU) On October 12, 2008, an SR-560 on SSIMT patrol sighted a vessel in the Caribbean Sea off the Guajira peninsula coast. A COLNAV vessel was directed to the suspect boat, which was impounded and four crewmembers were arrested. There were 64 packets of cocaine weighing 52 kilos and 174 packets of marijuana with a weight of 325 kilos. ¶4. (SBU) On October 14, 2008, an SR-560 on SSIMT patrol located a GOFAST vessel off the Colombian coast. A COLNAV vessel was directed to the area and impounded the GOFAST after it was run aground in the Colombian Island of Tintinan. 755 kilos of cocaine were impounded. The crew escaped before the COLNAV arrived to the site. -------------- Flight Operations -------------- ¶5. (SBU) In October 2008, the Citations flew 177 hours in 83 sorties with a 68% OR rate. Of the 83 sorties, 25 were for GOC ABD intelligence gathering and patrolling; seven for training; five were for operational support; 26 were for maritime patrolling, and twenty were in reaction to GOC-provided information. The SR-26 aircraft 5741 flew 57 hours in 33 sorties with a 69% OR rate. Twenty six SR-26 sorties were in support of ABD, of which twenty two were maritime missions. Seven SR-26 sorties were for non-ABD purposes. BROWNFIELD