A 40-foot submersible ferrying the Pacific Ocean has been caught with over 12,000 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $165 million.
The submarine was flagged by the U.S Coast Guard who arrested four drug smugglers according to a statement detailing the arrest.
At least 1,100 pounds of cocaine was recovered by the officials while the remaining could not be safely extracted due to the instability of the ship. According to intelligence, this is not the first drug bust the U.S Coast Guard have made this month alone.
In an interview with ABC News, Matthew Kroll, the Coast Guard Lt. Commander shared the progress of the team in sabotaging such heists.
The detection of a semi-submersible submarine is very difficult especially at night, that’s when this one was spotted by an aircraft that was flying in a routine patrol in the area. They vectored in the Coast Guard Cutter Valiant and in the early morning hours, the cutter launched one or two small boats to interdict the submarine,”
“The majority of the vessels that we interdict are coming out of South America, and they’re trying to get their way to either southern Mexico or central Central America, via the eastern Pacific maritime routes. So that’s where the majority of our assets, along with the assets of multiple Nations and other agencies, the United States that are working together to stop those transit zones.”
