In a video released by the U.S. Coast Guard, crew members belonging to the CG Cutter Munro tracked down a semi-submersible with drug runners in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and forced them to stop.
The video shows the Guardsmen chasing after the narco sub, ordering them to stop. They pulled alongside of it and jumped onto it as it was still moving. The first crew member to jump on top of it then started to hit the hatch with his fist. Those in the sub then opened the hatch and surrendered.
.@VP is welcoming back the crew of CG Cutter Munro as they turn over 39K lbs of cocaine from drug seizures like this one from a semi-submersible off South America to federal agents. We will be live-streaming the offload on Facebook in a few hours. More: https://t.co/5eQRbQpxw5 pic.twitter.com/9bMRorDC4I
— U.S. Coast Guard (@USCG) July 11, 2019
Lt. Cmdr. Stephen Brickey, a spokesman for U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area, told the Washington Post they seized more than 17,000 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $232 million in that encounter, adding it was pretty rare to catch the subs.
According to the Coast Guard, they seized more than 39,000 pounds of cocaine and 933 pounds of marijuana worth a combined estimated $569 million during the ship’s deployment. The Department of Defense says the smuggling vessels are designed to hold large quantities of contraband while evading detection.
“The fight against drug cartels in the Eastern Pacific requires unity of effort in all phases from detection, monitoring and interdictions, to criminal prosecutions by U.S. Attorneys in districts across the nation,” the Coast Guard said.
