Appellants were charged with conspiracy to possess marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana while on board a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States on the high seas. They were tried in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, and a jury returned a verdict of guilty on both counts as to all four defendants. The defendants appeal, raising several contentions of error in the trial and sentencing. We have carefully reviewed each of the stated contentions and find them to be without merit. We therefore affirm the judgment of the district court.

We find it necessary to discuss only the appellants' claim that the stopping and boarding of their ship was improper. Their vessel, the DIANA, was spotted in a high risk area of the Caribbean.1 The DIANA was approximately 50 feet in length, and it was sitting low in the water indicating that it was carrying a heavy cargo. The ship's crew failed to respond initially to radio and whistle signals from the Coast Guard Cutter GALLATIN. When the DIANA'S captain finally responded, he claimed that their purpose was fishing, contrary to the conspicuous lack of any fishing gear on board. Coast Guard officials also noticed apparently fresh damage to the DIANA of the kind found when two ships meet on the high seas and bump, as frequently occurs when marijuana is off-loaded from a mother ship onto smaller ships for importation. Given knowledge of these facts, along with experience in the field of Caribbean drug importation, we conclude that the Coast Guard had probable cause to board the vessel to investigate criminal activity.2

AFFIRMED.