Another war where we are constantly 'making progress'

Five tons of cocaine found on submarine

By Catherine Elsworth in Los Angeles
Daily Telegraph

A submarine-like vessel carrying an estimated five metric tons of cocaine worth over 350 million dollars has been intercepted by US border patrol agents off the Guatemalan coast.

The self-propelled, semi-submersible craft, which is partially visible from the surface, was spotted 300 miles south west of the Mexico-Guatemala border by drug-surveillance aircraft patrolling the eastern Pacific.

When the four-man crew saw an approaching Navy ship and realised they had been spotted, they attempted to scuttle the submarine along with most of its cargo.

More than four metric tons of cocaine are believed to have gone down with the vessel but the suspected smugglers were unable to escape and arrested when agents from Florida-based Customs and Border Patrol, the US Navy and the coast guard moved in.

Officials eventually recovered 11 bales of cocaine weighing around 1,210 pounds during Sunday's operation.

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