The U.S. Coast Guard made quite the drug bust in the Eastern Pacific Ocean in June 2019, and footage from that bust has just been released.
On Thursday (July 11), the U.S. Coast Guard released footage showing crew members of the Cutter Munro in pursuit of a partially submerged submarine. In the video, you can hear one crew member yelling at the submarine to stop.
When the vessel doesn’t stop, one of the Coasties decides to literally leap from his moving vessel onto the moving narco sub and starts banging on the hatch
The clip, which appears to have been recorded via helmet cam, ends with the narco sub crew opening the hatch, and emerging with their hands in the air.
The footage is from just one of 14 similar drug interdictions that the Munro and two other Coast Guard cutters pulled off between May and July 2019 along the coasts of Mexico and Central and South America, according to a July 11 statement from the US Coast Guard Pacific Area.
The U.S. Coast Guard told NBC News that five suspected smugglers and approximately 17,000 lbs of cocaine were found inside the submarine. According to the publication, the estimated street value of the drugs is $232 million.
This bust was just one of many that occurred between the months of May and July. NBC News states that a total of 14 drug-smuggling vessels were intercepted over that period, resulting in the seizure of 39,000 lbs of cocaine.
Vice President Mike Pence addressed the courageous members of the U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday when they unloaded the drugs in San Diego, California.
The U.S. Coast Guard has offloaded tons of cocaine and marijuana seized from boats and even a semi-submarine in the Pacific. @VP Mike Pence watch crews offload the drugs. https://t.co/m0MbvqQ8wu
— WISH-TV (@WISH_TV) July 12, 2019
“Make no mistake about it, Coasties, your courageous service is saving American lives,” Pence said, as quoted by NBC News.
Now, tune in to the video below to see the dramatic drug bust in which the U.S. Coast Guard seized 17,000 lbs of cocaine from a moving submarine. They had to have some serious nerve to do that!
The Munro’s efforts are part of a larger push to combat drug trafficking off of Central and South America, and involved partnerships between the Departments of Defense, Justice, Homeland Security, and federal law enforcement agencies.
The actual boarding operations in the Eastern Pacific are spearheaded by the 11th Coast Guard District, which the Alameda, California-based Munro falls under.
