Dramatic footage shows the moment a submarine containing 12,000 pounds of cocaine worth over $165 million is intercepted by the Coast Guard sailors
- Dramatic footage shows the moment a submarine carrying 12,000 pounds of cocaine worth over $165 million was intercepted by the US coast guard
- Four suspected drug smugglers were apprehended on September 5 during the operation in the Eastern Pacific
- It is unclear exactly where in the Eastern Pacific the swoop took place
- The drugs haul is one of several the Coast Guard has made in recent months
- Over 1,100 pounds of cocaine was recovered from the vessel but the rest could not be removed due to safety concerns
Dramatic footage shows the moment a submarine carrying 12,000 pounds of cocaine worth over $165 million was intercepted by the US coast guard.
The semi-submersible vessel was intercepted in the Eastern Pacific by members of the Cutter Valiant crew, who arrested four suspected drug smugglers on September 5.
The Valiant crew launched two small boats with teams made up of two members of the Coast Guard Pacific Tactical Law Enforcement Team during the operation.
A submarine carrying 12,000 pounds of cocaine worth over $165 million was intercepted by the US coast guard. Footage shows crew members from the Cutter Valiant swoop on the vessel on Friday
The vessel was intercepted on Tuesday morning and the Colombian Navy later assisted after arriving on the scene later, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement.
Over 1,100 pounds of cocaine were recovered and offloaded to the Valiant during the operations.
The remaining cocaine on the semi-submersible could not be safely extracted due to stability concerns of the vessel.
‘There are no words to describe the feeling Valiant crew is experiencing right now,’ said Cmdr. Matthew Waldron, Valiant’s Commanding Officer.
The Valiant crew launched two small boats with boarding teams made up of two members of the Coast Guard Pacific Tactical Law Enforcement Team during the operation
Bales of cocaine seized from a suspected smuggling vessel in the Eastern Pacific lie on the deck of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Valiant in September 2019.
‘In a 24-hour period, the crew both crossed the equator and intercepted a drug-laden self-propelled semi-submersible vessel.
‘Each in and of themselves is momentous events in any cutterman’s career.
‘Taken together, however, it is truly remarkably unprecedented. This interdiction was an all-hands-on-deck evolution, and each crew member performed above and beyond the call of duty.’
The Valiant is a multi-mission 210-foot Medium-Endurance Cutter commissioned in 1967.
Missions include search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, marine environmental protection, homeland security, and national defense operations.
Four suspected drug smugglers were apprehended and are due to be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tampa
Members of a U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Valiant boarding team transfer narcotics between an interceptor boat and a suspected smuggling vessel in the Eastern Pacific in September 2019
The four captured men, Enrique Mantilla-Olaya, Fausto Hurtado-Candelo, Wiber Tenorio-Rodriguez and Fernando Tribino-MIna, are being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tampa, NBC News reported.
The outlet said they have each been indicted with two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine.
It was not immediately clear from which country the submarine originated. In July, dramatic footage showed the moment U.S Coast Guards jumped on to a moving submarine in the Pacific ocean to stop drug traffickers carrying cocaine.
Video shows U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro members intercept the submarine-type vessel.
Footage shows another boat approach the submersible with crew members on board shouting as they edge closer to it.
Purpose-built smuggling vessels such as SPSSs are equipped to hold large quantities of contraband while seeking to avoid detection by law enforcement authorities.
A narco-submarine is a type of custom-made ocean-going self-propelled vessel built by drug traffickers to smuggle contraband.