A magistrate on Wednesday ordered the Coast Guard to turn over tapes of its seizure of a marijuana-laden cargo ship to attorneys defending the vessel's 18 crewmen. Defense attorneys had requested to see and hear hours of video and audio tapes to prove their claim that the Coast Guard boarded the ship and arrested the 18-man crew without probable cause. The attorneys began reviewing the tapes Wednesday afternoon after the order from U.S. Magistrate John Weinberg. The Coast Guard seized the cargo ship Encounter Bay on June 30 about 500 miles off the Washington coast. It was carrying an estimated 72 tons of marijuana with a street value of about $280 million, making it the largest maritime drug bust on the West Coast. Defense attorneys had asked to review all communications regarding the vessel's seizure, but Weinberg declined the request after Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerry Diskin said much of the material was classified. Among material not released was the first of two messages to the Boutwell indicating that the Panamanian Embassy in Washington, D.C., gave the Coast Guard permission to board the Encounter Bay, which was registered in Panama. Raul San Malo, Panamanian Embassy minister, told The Associated Press that permission to disable with gunfire, board and search the vessel had been granted by Ambassador Juan Sosa. Sosa is recognized as ambassador by the U.S. government, but not by Gen. Manuel Noriega, the Panamanian military leader who has been indicted on drug-related charges in Florida. If probable cause is found, crew members would face charges of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, which carries a penalty of 10 years to life in prison, Diskin said. Diskin also began presenting arguments to continue to detain the crewmen, who include three Americans, one Englishman, one New Zealander and 13 from Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore. Jeffrey Bernard Press, 41, a British citizen who lives in Singapore, and Anthony Gilbert Sayers, 53, of Auckland, New Zealand, have a long association with the Encounter Bay as master and chief officer, respectively, Diskin said. Samuel J. Colflesh, 31, of Springfield, Pa., ``... admitted being the master at least on this voyage,'' Diskin said. As for Terrance Albert Nolan, 36, who gave an address in New Orleans, and Gary Robinson, 34, of Missouri, ``the reasons for their presence aboard the vessel is connected only with the contraband aboard because there's no evidence of them being part of the crew,'' Diskin said. Five of the Southeast Asian crewmen aboard the Encounter Bay appeared to have worked on the ship for years, Diskin said. The backgrounds of the other Southeast Asian crewmen was not known, he said. On Tuesday, Lt. Thomas Rogers testified the Coast Guard had information indicating that the high-grade Thai marijuana was loaded off Danang, Vietnam, during the first 10 days of June, and that the Vietnamese army was involved in the operation. No questions about Vietnam's alleged involvement were raised in court Wednesday, but in a telephone interview Tuesday night with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Be An, second secretary to the Vietnamese consul general in Mexico City, denied the Coast Guard account. ``The problem is this: Some people don't tell the truth,'' he said. ``They've been caught. They could say any old thing. ``Our government doesn't permit drug trafficking. We've never had an interest dealing with these drug (operations).''
