Chasing drug smugglers in the Caribbean

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) uses this modified DASH-8 aircraft to patrol the waters around Puerto Rico, looking for smugglers trying to get to the island by boat.

The aircraft, flown by CBP pilots, flies about 3,500 feet above the water and patrols the waters from the Dominican Republic to the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Two CBP agents sit side-by-side at their terminals in the modified aircraft. One monitors the plane's radar, the other operates the infrared camera. At night, the aircraft flies completely dark, with window shades down and navigation lights off so they won't be spotted by smugglers.

A CBP agent points to the radar display on the aircraft. When the seas are calm, the radar is so sensitive it can detect seaweed floating on the surface of the ocean.

When the radar picks something up, the agent operating the infrared camera is signaled to investigate. CBS News correspondent Kelly Cobiella observes.

The infrared camera on the CBP aircraft can spot a vessel eight miles away in complete darkness.

A CBP marine unit chases a vessel near Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico around midnight on May 19. 2011. The boat was en route to Puerto Rico from the Dominican Republic. CBP recovered 47 bricks of cocaine, with an estimated value of $1.4 million.

Many times, smugglers will use small boats like these, called 'yolas', to move drugs. On September 7, 2011 CBP agents pursued this 20-foot yola carrying narcotics that was en route to Puerto Rico from the U.S. Virgin Islands.

CBP agents recovered 45 bricks of cocaine, with an estimated street value of $1.2 million. The two U.S. citizens from Puerto Rico were detained.

Migrant smuggling is also a problem on Puerto Rico's west coast. On September 1, 2011 a CBS camera recorded Puerto Rico Police detaining 11 Dominican migrants a mile offshore from Isabella, Puerto Rico.

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Sapelo is one of several based in San Juan that patrols the waters off the west coast of Puerto Rico, including the Mona Passage.

In one instance, three handguns were found hidden inside a portable CD player that was double-boxed and mailed overnight to Puerto Rico from an address in Haines City, Florida.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service confiscated 85 weapons during the first 8 months of 2011. The weapons were being mailed from the mainland U.S. to support drug traffickers in Puerto Rico.

Among the weapons seized: guns with scopes, lasers, and extended magazines, armor-penetrating cop-killer guns, AK-47s, and AR-15s. The USPIS tells CBS News they are seeing an increase in guns being trafficked to the island via the mail.

Puerto Rico is on track to break its record for number of murders in a single year. In 1994, the island's deadliest year, 995 people were killed. Last year, 983 people were killed. As of September 8, 2011 there have been 847 homicides - that's 140 more than this point last year. Federal law enforcement officials estimate 75% of the killings are linked to drug trafficking.

Emilio Diaz Colon recently took over as the superintendent of Puerto Rico's Police Department. He recently told CBS News "San Juan is as safe as any other large city in the mainland."

In 2010, San Juan recorded 201 murders. Miami - close in population - recorded 68 murders. Oakland, California - also close in population - recorded 90 murders.

Most of the drug dealing and killings occur in or near the island's public housing projects, like this one pictured in San Juan. However the murders have recently trickled out to malls, food courts, and the highways

Pedro Janer, Asst. Special Agent in Charge of the DEA's Caribbean Division, tells CBS News because of the efforts to crackdown on the southwest border, over the last two years they have seen an increase in smuggling through the Caribbean - an established alternate route for drug trafficking organizations.

In June 2011, DEA agents and Puerto Rico Police raided La Perla, a slum situated near the tourist district of Old San Juan that had become the heroin capital of the island. More than 80 people have been arrested in connection with that investigation.

A cruise ship passes offshore of La Perla in Old San Juan just after the slum was raided by Puerto Rico Police and DEA agents. Javier Pe

Puerto Rico has a $3.5 billion tourism industry. Nearly 5 million people visit the island each year. This summer Puerto Rico Police increased patrols on some beaches and in tourist districts to reassure visitors.