Members of the US Coast Guard spotted a semi-submersible vessel similar to those used by Colombian drug cartels. They caught the chase of the alleged drug-smuggling vessel in a dramatic video that was later posted on social media.
The video shows crew members from the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Munro, pursuing a speeding submarine in international waters if t he eastern Pacific Ocean. A Coast Guard crew member can be seen pointing at the vessel and repeatedly shouting “Stop the boat!” in Spanish. The crew remained in pursuit until the submarine breaks the surface of the water.
Several Coast Guard members bravely jump onto the small submersible and bang on the hatch until the smugglers open it.
The 45-foot-long submersible was traveling around 10 miles per hour several hundred miles off the Ecuadorian/Colombian border. The submersible vessel was found to contain some 17,000 pounds of cocaine, an estimated street value of $232 million, and 11 crew members. Coast Guard turned over the contraband to federal authorities who live-steamed the off-loading.
The bust was part of an extensive effort that included 14 other drug-smuggling busts along the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America, according to a press release. An estimated 39,000 pounds of cocaine and 933 pounds of marijuana were seized, worth a combined estimate of $569 million. The smugglers nabbed in the operations totaled 55.
