A joint effort between Operations Turks and Caicos (OPBAT) and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force resulted in the apprehension of seventeen Cuban Nationals near Cay Sal on Saturday past, who are now being detained at the Carmichael Road Detention Center.After receiving information from the Operations Command Center of a vessel being sighted in the Cay Sal Bank area, HMBS Leon Livingston Smith, was dispatched to investigate. On arrival into the area, they discovered the Cuban Nationals (13 males, 2 females, 1 male minor and 1 female minor), who all appeared to be in fair health. Upon searching the vessel, 1 kilo of suspected cocaine was retrieved and held. The migrants were transferred onboard the Defence Force vessel and brought into the Capital shortly after 3:00pm Saturday afternoon, where they were turned over to the Immigration authorities for further processing. The suspected cocaine was subsequently confirmed and handed over to the relevant authorities.