JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Florida-based Coast Guard crew took down a narco-submarine carrying 12,000 pounds of cocaine, worth over $165 million, and apprehended four suspected drug smugglers in the Eastern Pacific.
The drug-laden, 40-foot self-propelled semi-submersible (SPSS) was originally detected and monitored by maritime patrol aircraft.
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The crew launched two small boats with boarding teams and took down the submarine early in the morning.
"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. Taken together, however, it is truly remarkably unprecedented."
The #Florida @USCG Cutter Valiant took down a narco sub carrying 12k lbs of cocaine in the #EasternPacific, cutting approximately $165 mil from smuggler pockets.
— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) September 24, 2019
More info and photos here: https://t.co/mSb28nTIzF pic.twitter.com/hS5kRVtV3f