Narcosub - Coast Guardsmen Seize 12,800 Pounds of Cocaine From Drug Sub

Published on Mar 31, 2016

Official video of U.S. Coast Guardsmen seizing a self-propelled semi-submersible on March 3, 2016.

Official caption: Coast Guardsmen from the Cutter Bertholf from Alameda, Calif., seize more than 12,800 pounds of cocaine and apprehend four suspected drug smugglers from a self-propelled semisubmersible about 300 miles southwest of Panama March 3. This is the second SPSS interdiction by the Coast Guard in Fiscal Year 2016, which runs from Oct. 1, 2015, to Sept. 30, 2016, and the fifth SPSS interdiction by the Coast Guard since June 2015. (Coast Guard video courtesy of Cutter Bertholf/released)


"CBP P-3 Detects Semisubmersible
Release Date:
March 24, 2016

Vessel, 5.5 tons of cocaine sink to bottom of ocean

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Air and Marine Operations (AMO) agents efforts in the Eastern Pacific Ocean lead to the arrest of four people and the disruption of more than 12,800 pounds of cocaine.

The cocaine had an estimated value of more than $193,939,000.

The crew aboard a P-3 Long Range Tracker detected a self-propelled semi-submersible vessel Mar. 2, while conducting counter-narcotics operations with Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) South.

The task force coordinated an interdiction of the semi-submersible with a U.S. Coast Guard vessel in the area while the AMO crew maintained constant visual surveillance. Upon interdiction, the U.S. Coast Guard arrested four individuals operating the vessel. The semi-submersible became unstable and sank."