The 5 smugglers of the vessel await detention
Crew members of a U.S. Coast Guard cutter have unloaded around 7.5 tons of cocaine from a submarine-like vessel off of the Caribbean coast of Honduras. The drugs, worth around $180 million, were unloaded on Tuesday into Miami Beach, Florida.
The U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs had located the semi-submersible craft in mid-July near Honduras and Nicaragua, and detained the five members of the drug smuggling sub. The crew had managed to sink the craft before authorities could investigate, and it wasnt until this week that the Coast Guard had located the vessel 50-ft beneath the surface using sonar equipment after a 2-week long search.
The 5 smugglers of the vessel currently await detention hearings in Tampa federal court on multiple drug charges.
Source: Maritime Executive
