A Somerset man may face attempted importation charges in the Dutch Antilles after more than 10,000 pounds of marijuana were found on the boat he was skippering during a titanic drugs bust off St. Maarten.

The Royal Gazette learned yesterday that Winston F. Robinson was the Bermudian man arrested with five others following the surprise seizure on the Carl Senior on Tuesday.

Authorities in St. Maarten remained tight-lipped about the details of the arrests.

An official in the prosecutor's office would only say that the man was "the captain of Carl Senior, with the initials W.F.R.".

The Royal Gazette later confirmed Robinson's identity through other sources.

The 60-year-old former Mangrove Bay man is understood to have been living off the Island for many years.

Robinson's boat, Carl Senior, is believed to be registered in Tortola, British Virgin Islands although The Royal Gazette was unable to confirm that information yesterday.

The Carl Senior was travelling to St. Maarten from Curacao - another island of the Dutch Antilles - when it ran into problems roughly 40 miles from the coast.

A Dutch Navy frigate responded Monday to the fishing boat's distress call stating it had ran out of fuel and was taking on water.

The frigate was en route to the Netherlands after completing Caribbean duties.

According to the head of the Dutch Coast Guard, the Carl Senior had been under surveillance for the past ten months.

And yesterday, Supt. Larry Smith, head of the Bermuda's narcotics department, told The Royal Gazette local authorities have been cooperating with outside drug interdiction agencies attempting to tighten the noose on Robinson's alleged drug ring.

"We have been working with the DEA (US Drug Enforcement Agency) and Caribbean authorities for a long time," Supt. Smith said.

While authorities have been watching Robinson for some time, Supt. Smith said it was still too early to tell whether any other Bermudians will be arrested as a result of the investigation.

It is not known if any of the 10,340 pounds of marijuana seized were intended for Bermuda.

Locally, the street value of the drugs would be over $200 million. Police enquiries are ongoing.

In addition to Robinson, Coast Guard officials arrested two Venezuelans, one person from St. Kitts and two Netherlands Antilles citizens.