Coast Guard Cutter Stratton crewmembers secure cocaine bales from a self-propelled semi-submersible interdicted in international waters off the coast of Central America, July 19, 2015. The Coast Guard recovered more than 6 tons of cocaine from the 40-foot vessel.
(Coast Guard photo courtesy of Petty Officer 2nd Class LaNola Stone)
[From article]
A U.S. Coast Guard crew from Alameda stopped a semi-submersible vessel carrying more than 16,000 pounds of cocaine in the Eastern Pacific Ocean last month — the largest bust of its kind in Coast Guard history.
On July 18, the crew apprehended four suspected smugglers and captured 275 bales of cocaine worth more than $181 million wholesale from the self-propelled semi-submersible (SPSS) vessel, a low-riding vessel often used to smuggle massive quantities of narcotics across the ocean nearly undetected.
But not this time. The U.S. Navy maritime patrol aircraft found the 40-foot “narco-submarine” more than 200 miles south of Mexico.
[. . .]
After removing the majority of cocaine from the vessel, the Coast Guard Cutter Station crew left 4,000 pounds of cocaine on board to stabilize it as they towed it to shore for evidence. However, the submersible began taking on water and sank along with the 2 tons of cocaine.
[Really? Who's to know what happened to 2 tons of cocaine?]
[. . .]
There have been 25 known semi-submersible busts in the Eastern Pacific Ocean since November 2006.
[That suggests that some got through, or the cartels would have stopped trying.]
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/08/05/alameda-coast-guard-crew-seizes-8-tons-of-cocaine-from-narco-submarine/
Alameda Coast Guard Crew Seizes Narco-Submarine Carrying 8 Tons Of Cocaine
August 5, 2015 12:38 PM
[From article]
A U.S. Coast Guard crew from Alameda stopped a semi-submersible vessel carrying more than 16,000 pounds of cocaine in the Eastern Pacific Ocean last month — the largest bust of its kind in Coast Guard history.
On July 18, the crew apprehended four suspected smugglers and captured 275 bales of cocaine worth more than $181 million wholesale from the self-propelled semi-submersible (SPSS) vessel, a low-riding vessel often used to smuggle massive quantities of narcotics across the ocean nearly undetected.
But not this time. The U.S. Navy maritime patrol aircraft found the 40-foot “narco-submarine” more than 200 miles south of Mexico.
[. . .]
After removing the majority of cocaine from the vessel, the Coast Guard Cutter Station crew left 4,000 pounds of cocaine on board to stabilize it as they towed it to shore for evidence. However, the submersible began taking on water and sank along with the 2 tons of cocaine.
[Really? Who's to know what happened to 2 tons of cocaine?]
[. . .]
There have been 25 known semi-submersible busts in the Eastern Pacific Ocean since November 2006.
[That suggests that some got through, or the cartels would have stopped trying.]
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/08/05/alameda-coast-guard-crew-seizes-8-tons-of-cocaine-from-narco-submarine/
Alameda Coast Guard Crew Seizes Narco-Submarine Carrying 8 Tons Of Cocaine
August 5, 2015 12:38 PM
CBS News San Francisco CA
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