Coast Guard Captures Narco-Sub Carrying 12,000 Pounds Of Cocaine
ALAMEDA (CBS SF) -- A Coast Guard cutter has captured a semi-submersible submarine carrying 12,000 pounds of cocaine in the eastern Pacific off Colombia, authorities said.
The Cutter Valiant, stationed in Florida but working off the western coast of South America, Central America and Mexico, was sent to intercept the drug-laden, 40-foot vessel.
The Valiant crew launched two small boats with boarding teams made up of Valiant crew and two members of the Coast Guard Pacific Tactical Law Enforcement Team, successfully interdicting the vessel in the early morning hours. The Colombian Naval also arrived on the scene to assist in the seizure and arrests.
Over 1,100 pounds of cocaine was recovered and offloaded to the Valiant during the operations. But the remaining cocaine on the semi-submersible could not be safely extracted due to stability concerns of the vessel.
The street value of the cocaine was estimated as over $165 million.
"There are no words to describe the feeling Valiant crew is experiencing right now," said Cmdr. Matthew Waldron, Valiant's Commanding Officer. "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."