A dramatic video released by the U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday showed service members jumping onto a moving submarine that was smuggling 17,000 pounds of cocaine, part of a larger $569 million drug bust.
The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Munro had been undertaking a months-long effort to nab so-called narco-subs, or self-propelled vessels that are often used in international waters by cartels and drug traffickers.{mosads}
The Coast Guard released video of the June 18 bust of an undefined submarine at the surface of the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
A crew member can be heard calling out orders to stop the submarine in Spanish before warning a colleague that “it will be hard to get on.”
A member is then seen leaping onto the top of the moving submarine before pounding on the hatch.
A suspect emerges from the top of the vessel with their hands up at the end of the minute-long clip. Five other suspected smugglers were also found inside.
The Coast Guard told NBC News that the 17,000 pounds of cocaine found inside the vehicle had an estimated street value of $232 million.
The bust was part of a larger mission that included 14 other drug-smuggling interceptions along the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America, according to a press release.
In total, an estimated 39,000 pounds of cocaine and 933 pounds of marijuana were seized, worth a combined estimate of $569 million.
Vice President Pence was with Coast Guard members in San Diego as they unloaded the seized drugs.
Pence wrote on Twitter that 55 alleged smugglers were captured during the mission.