(TheConservativeTimes.org) – The United States Coast Guard Cutter Alert said they seized 11,000 pounds of cocaine during a drug bust conducted in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
They were on a 59-day narcotics patrol when their helicopter spotted a “go-fast vessel”, which is defined as a small, low-profile vessel that is often used by smugglers. Once the vessel was spotted, they launched both of their pursuit teams and ordered them to stop, however, they continued.
The helicopter eventually disabled the vessel’s engine, without detail, but successfully. They’ve been reached out regarding the situation but no details were given on just how exactly they disabled the vessel. In previous times the patrol helicopters have been known to fire shots to disable the engine.
While they were on the hunt for the boat, the smugglers were dumping cocaine balers into the ocean, which were later retrieved by crew members overnight.
The crew recovered dozens of bales of cocaine from the smugglers, which was valued at about $143 million. Cocaine is still a highly illegal substance, considered a Schedule II controlled substance, it has a high potential for abuse, and it’s often recovered in smuggling busts.
“The interdiction is among the Coast Guard’s largest single interdictions in the Eastern Pacific and represents a major blow to the criminal organizations attempting to smuggle illicit narcotics through the maritime domain,” the agency said.
The Coast Guard did not comment further on the smugglers or give any additional information regarding the seizure of drugs and the events that followed.
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