A U.S. Coast Guard crew based in Northern California has seized several tons of cocaine worth an estimated $181 million from a partially submerged vessel in the Pacific Ocean, the agency announced Thursday.
The July 18 bust occurred in international waters 200 miles off the coast of Central America, after a Navy maritime patrol aircraft spotted the vessel and alerted the Alameda-based crew aboard the 420-foot Coast Guard cutter Stratton, which was patrolling the area, said Petty Officer Michael Anderson.
Video of the confrontation shows armed Coast Guard crew members opening the vessel’s top – the craft is floating at the surface – and demanding its crew to climb out.
“Afuera! Afuera!” a Coast Guard crew member yelled.
One by one, the four men in the vessel climbed out. They were taken into custody, but authorities said it was unclear which federal agency would prosecute them.