Drug Running Subs

[CougarKing]

Didn't the Beatles already do this with a yellow sub? But seriously, the Mexican military deserves a "well done" for nabbing these clowns.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080717/od_nm/drugs_submari...YNsKIHgMAAudMYYSH9EA

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican troops seized a small submarine smuggling drugs in the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, the military said.

A navy plane spotted the craft about 140 miles south of the tourist resort of Huatulco, setting off a three-hour chase, Rear Adm. Hector Mucharraz told Reuters.

The green-colored submarine, carrying what was believed to be cocaine, was about 32 feet long and appeared to be a makeshift or modified vessel.
"The submarine traveled almost at the surface of the sea and when it came up we took advantage," said Capt. Benjamin Mar, a navy spokesman. Special forces troops swooped on the submarine from a helicopter and subdued the crew of four, he said.

The Mexican government is increasingly using the military to fight drug smugglers who move South American cocaine through Mexico and into the United States.

President Felipe Calderon has sent thousands of troops to drug trafficking hot spots since he took office in December, 2006.

Smugglers have moved drugs in Mexico through tunnels under the U.S. border and hidden in canned food and dolls, but the navy said this is the first time it had seen them use a submarine.

(Reporting by Jason Lange)

 

[Sig_Des]

[sarcasm] Another reason to arm CCG choppers with ASW torpedoes? [/sarcasm]

[sarcasm] CDN Aviator: Are submarines and ASW not dead?[/sarcasm]

So, basically, a most-likely unarmed & non-military submarine was caught because a navy plane spotted them. I'm willing to bet with capabilities that we have as well.

THEY didn't shoot a torpedo at it, so why does this give you an argument to militarize CCG crafts with ASW weapon? Not a good argument, IMHO

Do you also advocate our CF-18s shooting missiles at Semi's suspected of hauling drugs overland?

I think you jumped too quickly to use this incident as a subtle way of justifying your dream of CCG militarization.

 

[blacktriangle]

I think there was a drug carrying submarine in the James Bond movie "License to Kill"...

 

[CougarKing]

So, basically, a most-likely unarmed & non-military submarine was caught because a navy plane spotted them. I'm willing to bet with capabilities that we have as well.

THEY didn't shoot a torpedo at it, so why does this give you an argument to militarize CCG crafts with ASW weapon? Not a good argument, IMHO

Do you also advocate our CF-18s shooting missiles at Semi's suspected of hauling drugs overland?

I think you jumped too quickly to use this incident as a subtle way of justifying your dream of CCG militarization.

A joke is a joke; sarcasm is sarcasm. Sheesh.

 

[Sig_Des]

A joke is a joke; sarcasm is sarcasm. Sheesh.

This is a joke:

Didn't the Beatles already do this with a yellow sub?

This is sarcasm:

[sarcasm] Another reason to arm CCG choppers with ASW torpedoes? [/sarcasm]

THIS is a sarcastic dig at someone you previously had an argument with:

[sarcasm] CDN Aviator: Are submarines and ASW not dead?[/sarcasm]

 

[CBH99]

Pretty sure he made it clear he was being sarcastic...

ANYHOW...

There was a interesting documentary on the History Channel not too long ago that explored the use of submarines to smuggle drugs throughout the Caribbean - truly "Pirates of the Carribean".  Often, these submarines were made on shore in dense jungle to hide their construction - and were often crudely constructed using all kinds of materials.  Some were big enough for a crew of 3-4, others just for a crew of 1.  I think they all had to stay close to the surface and snorkle as they went along.

I'll try to think of what it was called...definately an interesting show though. 

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

CD, i recommend that you keep said comments to yourself. After all they have not helped your argument at all, all what was accomplished was animosity.

Milnet.ca Staff

 

[Ping Monkey]

CANADIAN AIR FORCE AURORA HELPS NAB DRUG SMUGGLING SUB

By Dave ******** 


This bust took place on Jan. 15 but this news release just came out today (better late than never):

ESQUIMALT, B.C. - A Canadian Air Force CP-140 Aurora long-range patrol
aircraft based at 19 Wing Comox, B.C. has returned from a successful mission
in the Pacific Ocean where it participated in a drug bust off the coast of
South America on January 15.

As part of Canadian Forces' Operation CARIBBE, the CP-140 Aurora assisted in
the identification of a low-profile or Self-Propelled Semi-Submersible
(SPSS) vessel operating in international waters.  Such vessels are one of
the latest methods used in the region to illegally smuggle narcotics.  This
vessel was discovered to be carrying approximately seven metric tonnes of
cocaine worth an estimated $242 million.  SPSS vessels can transport several
tons of cocaine and other illicit cargo to ranges in excess of 2,000
nautical miles....

Full story at: http://communities.canada.com/ottawacitizen/blogs/defencewatch/archive/2009/02/19/canadian-air-force-aurora-helps-nab-drug-smuggling-sub.aspx

 

[Sub_Guy]

Who on earth would sail in one of these things for 2,000 nautical miles! 

 

[derael]

I just saw an episode of "Truth, Duty, Valour" on the Aurora's... very cool stuff. I had no idea of the capabilities these guys have.

 

[Eagle_Eye_View]

Right on, nice job 407!

 

[geo]

Guess the Aurora is still an effective tool in our belt

BZ 407

 

[Sub_Guy]

It is too bad this news story didn't get more publicity.  The only place I can find this story is on David ********'s Defence watch, it isn't even on the Air Force news page. 

 

[Arctic007]

Knowing many people in the MP community, and given that their work is highly classified, i'm sure they get to do some pretty cool stuff to break the monotony of 13 hour sovereignty patrols.  I can only imagine this is one of many things they can't receive credit for.  BZ MP

 

[CougarKing]

Good job to both the crews of the USCGC Midgett and the USN plane crew (an Orion?).

Drug sub carrying 7 tons of cocaine busted
Seattle crew in on $196 million haul

By MIKE BARBER
P-I REPORTER

The crews of the Seattle-based Coast Guard cutter Midgett and a Navy maritime patrol plane teamed up to catch a drug-running submarine carrying 7 tons of cocaine worth about $196 million, Coast Guard officials said Friday.

The 60-foot sub, a semi-submersible vessel, was caught by the Midgett about 400 miles south of the Mexico-Guatemala border after the Navy air crew detected it and guided the cutter to it Wednesday.

An armed boarding party from the Midgett found 195 bales of cocaine in a large forward compartment of the sub, authorities said.

As the bales were being transferred, the sub became unstable and started to sink. Unsafe to tow, the boat was sunk by the Midgett's crew, which considered it a potential hazard to navigation.
226_Coastguard
Zoom Coast Guard
A drug sub, a self-propelled, semi-submersible vessel, was seized Wednesday off the coast of Mexico and Guatemala. The Seattle-based Coast Guard cutter Midgett helped capture the boat and its load of 7 tons of cocaine, worth about $196 million.

It was the second discovery of a drug sub, or SPSS for "self-propelled semi-submersible" vessel, in five days. The boats, considered "stateless" because they are unflagged, can travel from Ecuador to San Diego without stopping for food or fuel, the Coast Guard said.

The first sub was captured Sunday by the USS McInerney's crew. It was about 350 miles off the coast of Guatemala with four suspected Colombian drug runners and 7 tons of cocaine, according to a Naval Forces Southern Command statement.

The smugglers tried to throw the boarding team into the sea by reversing engines. When that failed, the team thwarted an attempt to sink the vessel when it "compelled the smugglers to comply" with orders to close scuttling valves, according to a Coast Guard news release. The McInerney took the sub in tow.

The drug subs, also known as narco-subs, are homemade and 25 to 65 feet long. They generally can carry 3 to 5 tons of cocaine and are designed solely for smuggling drugs, Navy officials said.

While the semi-submersibles cannot dive, the boats are dangerous to capture, putting boarding parties at particular risk, because they have valves that allow smugglers to abandon and sink the vessel quickly, Navy officials said.

The use of the subs has grown in recent years. Relatively few are captured as smugglers often scuttle them when detected.

"Over the past five days, Pacific Area Coast Guard units, with the help of our U.S. Navy and interagency partners, seized more than 14 tons of cocaine with a street value of more than $383 million," Adm. Thad Allen, Coast Guard commandant, said in a written statement.

The 37-year-old Midgett is the last of the Coast Guard's 378-foot "high endurance" cutters designed for deep-water duty. It conducts armed search-and-rescue and law enforcement missions. In addition to a Mark 75 3-inch gun with a range of 10 nautical miles capable of firing up to 80 rounds a minute, the Midgett carries 25 mm and .50-caliber machine guns, while its crew members are trained in handling small arms.

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/379835_coastguard20.html

 

[CougarKing]

Yet another drug sub caught:

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/091022/world/international_us_guatemala_drugs

10 tonnes cocaine found in submarine off Guatemala

1 hour, 27 minutes ago

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - U.S. and Guatemalan authorities captured a makeshift submarine loaded with an estimated 10 tonnes of cocaine in the Pacific Ocean off Guatemala, Guatemalan police said on Thursday.

Four men aboard the vessel -- three Colombians and a Mexican -- were arrested when it was detained Wednesday night by U.S. anti-drug agents and the Guatemalan Coast Guard some 175 miles off Guatemala's Pacific Coast.


If the size of the seizure is confirmed, it would be the largest ever drug bust in Guatemala, which is becoming an important transit point for illegal drugs moved north by powerful Mexican trafficking cartels.


Drug gangs operate with impunity in the jungles of northern Guatemala, where they receive shipments of South American cocaine and ship them across the border into Mexico.


Mexico's drug cartels have been moving into neighboring Guatemala as they seek to secure supply lines amid a brutal struggle for territory in Mexico that has claimed some 14,500 lives in the nearly three years since President Felipe Calderon came to power and launched an army crackdown.


Anti-drug patrols in the waters around Central America have turned up at least two other large submarine-like vessels that can be as much as 59-feet long and carry sophisticated navigation equipment. The steel-and-fiberglass vessels run partially submerged in an attempt to evade radar.

 

[old medic]

Housekeeping note - Merged up the previous two threads about drug running subs
with the latest thread.

Thanks CD.