A video posted to social media by the U.S. Coast Guard is going viral this week, and it shows the moment crew members of the CG Cutter Munro track down a semi-submersible with drug runners in the Eastern Pacific Ocean before forcing it to stop.
The Washington Examiner reported that the video opens with the guardsmen chasing down the narco-submarine and ordering it to stop. Miraculously, they pull up next to the submarine and proceed to jump onto it, with the first crew member to do so punching the hatch with his fist. It’s then that the drug runners inside finally open the hatch and surrender to the Coast Guard.
.@VP is welcoming back the crew of CG Cutter Munro as they turn over 39K lbs of cocaine from drug seizures like this one from a semi-submersible off South America to federal agents. We will be live-streaming the offload on Facebook in a few hours. More: https://t.co/5eQRbQpxw5 pic.twitter.com/9bMRorDC4I
— U.S. Coast Guard (@USCG) July 11, 2019
Rare To Catch A Submarine Like This
Lt. Cmdr. Stephen Brickey, a spokesman for U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area, explained that the guardsmen seized more than 17,000 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $232 million during this encounter. He added that it is exceedingly rare for them to catch submarines in this way.
The Coast Guard has said that they have seized over 39,000 pounds of cocaine and 933 pounds of marijuana worth a combined estimated $569 million during this ship’s deployment.
“The fight against drug cartels in the Eastern Pacific requires unity of effort in all phases from detection, monitoring and interdictions, to criminal prosecutions by U.S. Attorneys in districts across the nation,” the Coast Guard said in a statement.
This serves as a reminder of all the things that the Coast Guard does to keep us safe every day. God bless all of the men and women who serve in the United States Coast Guard!