The US Coast Guard stopped and seized a self-propelled semi-submersible carrying 12,800 pounds of cocaine with an estimated value of roughly $200 million on March 3.
The semi-submersible, sometimes called a narco submarine, was detected by US Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations agents aboard a P-3 Orion Long Range Tracker on March 2. Notified by the AMO, the Coast Guard intercepted the drug-laden craft 300 miles southwest of Panama in the Pacific Ocean and arrested four suspects.
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Coast Guardsmen were able to enter the vessel several times to recover contraband and evidence, including a loaded gun. The Coast Guard release and a release by the CBP on March 24 gave differing amounts for the cargo's value — $203 million and $193.9 million, respectively.
The CBP also said the craft became unstable and sank after it was intercepted.
“Transnational organized crime groups continue to adjust their tactics to avoid detection indicated by a recent rise in the use of SPSS vessels,” Vice Adm. Charles Ray, commander of the Coast Guard Pacific Area, said in a release.
US Coast Guard/Dvidshub
Semi-submersibles used for smuggling are usually built to travel just below the surface, with just an exhaust pipe, a wheelhouse, and an airstack emerging from the water, according to Vice News. The vessels are often camouflaged, and many of them are constructed in Colombia, a major hub for cocaine production.
In 2012, 80% of the illegal drugs smuggled to the US came on maritime routes, and 30% of the illegal drugs delivered to US shores via the sea were carried on narco submarines, according to a 2014 study cited by Vice News.
This is the second semi-submersible seized by the Coast Guard in Fiscal Year 2016 (October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016), after intercepting a vessel 280 miles southwest of the Mexico-Guatemala border. The suspects in the case were able to sink their craft, but the Coast Guard apprehended them.
It's also the fifth semi-submersible vessel captured by the Coast Guard since June 2015. So far in Fiscal Year 2016, Coast Guardsmen have seized 201,000 pounds of cocaine.
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