2.5 Tons of Cocaine Recovered From Sunken Submarine
Baku, July 29 (AZERTAC). Combined Honduran and U.S. naval forces recovered 2.5 metric tons of cocaine from a submarine intercepted on its way from Colombia to the United States, authorities said Thursday.
The drugs were on the vessel sunk off the Caribbean coast of Honduras around two weeks ago by its four-man crew after the coast guard caught up with the suspected traffickers. General Rene Osorio of Honduras said the semi-submersible sub had been carrying around 5 tons of cocaine and that half of the narcotics shipment was still on board. Honduras is used by Mexican and Colombian cartels to traffic drugs to the United States. Mexican drug gangs have been moving into Central America since Mexico`s government launched an army-led drive to crush them 4-1/2 years ago. Honduran naval authorities were working Thursday to retrieve an estimated three tons of cocaine loaded into a submarine seized off the country`s Caribbean coast.
Honduran Defence Minister Marlon Pascua said that five people were arrested when the vessel was captured about 25 kilometres off Gracias a Dios province. Pascua noted that the recovery of the submarine was continuing, which was complicated because the vessel remained submerged but under Honduran Navy surveillance. In recent years, small, homemade submarines have been seized in rising numbers off Central America and Mexico with cocaine on board, as drug traffickers seek new routes to smuggle narcotics into the United States.
Other news in this section
