The US Coast Guard has intercepted a homemade submarine carrying more than £116 million worth of cocaine off the coast of Mexico.
The bust was the biggest of its kind in history.
Crew on the Coast Guard Cutter Stratton intercepted the 40-foot "self-propelled semi-submersible" 200 miles south of Mexico on July 18 and arrested four alleged smugglers.
Once aboard they found 275 bales of cocaine.
Coast Guard Vice Admiral Charles W. Ray, commander of the Pacific area, spoke about the importance of the bust saying it helped provide stability through the western hemisphere.
He said: ”Every interception of these semi-submersibles disrupts transnational organised crime networks and helps increase security and stability in the Western Hemisphere.”
The crew had recovered 12,000lbs of cocaine from the submarine before it sank as it was being towed to shore taking down with it another 4,000lbs of the drug.
The blue painted semi-submersible was initially seen by a US Navy spotter plane who then informed the coast guard of their find.
The method has become a favourite of Colombian smugglers, who have been using them for more than a decades.
"All that you can see is the exhaust pipe and the cockpit from air, so they're very difficult to see," US Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer Allyson Conroy explained.
At least 25 such vessels have been stopped in the Eastern Pacific since November of 2006, the Coast Guard said.
On June 16, the Stratton busted another semi-submersible carrying 5,460 pounds of cocaine.
Music : Urban Gauntlet by Kevin MacLeod
Source : Mirror , CNN , Inquisitr , US Coast Guard
Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/patryn.worldlatestnews
The bust was the biggest of its kind in history.
Crew on the Coast Guard Cutter Stratton intercepted the 40-foot "self-propelled semi-submersible" 200 miles south of Mexico on July 18 and arrested four alleged smugglers.
Once aboard they found 275 bales of cocaine.
Coast Guard Vice Admiral Charles W. Ray, commander of the Pacific area, spoke about the importance of the bust saying it helped provide stability through the western hemisphere.
He said: ”Every interception of these semi-submersibles disrupts transnational organised crime networks and helps increase security and stability in the Western Hemisphere.”
The crew had recovered 12,000lbs of cocaine from the submarine before it sank as it was being towed to shore taking down with it another 4,000lbs of the drug.
The blue painted semi-submersible was initially seen by a US Navy spotter plane who then informed the coast guard of their find.
The method has become a favourite of Colombian smugglers, who have been using them for more than a decades.
"All that you can see is the exhaust pipe and the cockpit from air, so they're very difficult to see," US Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer Allyson Conroy explained.
At least 25 such vessels have been stopped in the Eastern Pacific since November of 2006, the Coast Guard said.
On June 16, the Stratton busted another semi-submersible carrying 5,460 pounds of cocaine.
Music : Urban Gauntlet by Kevin MacLeod
Source : Mirror , CNN , Inquisitr , US Coast Guard
Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/patryn.worldlatestnews
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