Coast Guard Makes Huge Drug Bust from Semi-Submersible Vessel

Nearly seven tons of cocaine seized from a submarine-like vessel off the coast of Honduras has been unloaded in Florida by the US Coast Guard. C G crews intercepted suspected smugglers allegedly transporting the drugs, worth an estimated $180m, in mid-July, officials said. The suspects were arrested after trying to sink their own vessel with most of drugs still on board, said officials. An FBI dive team recovered the remaining cocaine load last week.

The Coast Guard said in a statement it was the first time a "drug sub" has been intercepted in western Caribbean waters.  A C-130 fixed-wing aircraft first spotted the self-propelled semi-submersible (SPSS) close to the water's surface on 13 July near the Honduran province of Gracias a Dios. A Coast Guard cutter was called to intercept the vessel, after US Customs and Border Protection crews also noticed the SPSS.

The US Coast Guard has said the load of cocaine is worth an estimated $180m. As the Coast Guard approached, the suspected smugglers jumped into life rafts after pulling a valve inside the SPSS to sink it with the narcotics on board, according to Coast Guard Lt Patrick Montgomery. "The Coast Guard is always on the lookout for anything that looks suspicious in the water and that definitely includes 15,000lb of drugs," Lt Montgomery said.

 Coast Guard crews took the vessel's five crew members into custody and were able to retrieve a small portion of the cocaine before the vessel sank. FBI divers retrieved the remainder of the narcotics last week, located about 70ft below the surface of the water. Coast Guard officials said the drugs, which were unloaded in a port in Miami, will now be turned over the federal government.

Semi-submersible vessels used to transport drugs in the Eastern Pacific are often made in areas of the Colombian jungle controlled by the country's biggest guerrilla group, the Farc, Lt Montgomery said. SPSS vessels are regularly used to transport drugs along Central America's Pacific Coast.