The view of an armed U.S. Coast Guard officer leaping aboard a drug cartel semi-submersible has gone viral.
The interdiction of the self-propelled semi-submersible on June 18 resulted in the removal of over 17,000 pounds of cocaine, worth an estimated $232 million, making it the Coast Guard’s largest single seizure since 2015.
This was Coast Guard Cutter Munro’s first counter-drug patrol since its commissioning in 2017, and, besides the semi-submersible incident, resulted in drug seizures onboard five “panga” style vessels, one low-profile go-fast vessel, and a fishing boat. The eight interdictions resulted in the total seizure of more than 31,000 pounds of illicit narcotics worth an estimated $467 million in wholesale value.
This is the story behind the “badass boarding,” as told by the participants.
