U.S. intercepts drug-laden vessel
U.S. forces intercepted a submarine-like vessel packed with tons of cocaine and arrested the crew off Guatemala.
Four suspects were captured after they abandoned the semi-submersible vessel discovered by officials from Customs and Border Protection, the Navy and the Coast Guard, the customs agency said in a statement.
The vessel was intercepted Sunday about 300 miles southwest of the Mexico-Guatemala border, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a separate statement.
Eleven bales containing 1,210 pounds of cocaine bobbed to the surface after the crew scuttled the 50-foot vessel, the Coast Guard said. It estimated the craft was transporting about 5 1/2 tons of cocaine when it sank.
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