Posted on 03/03/2011 10:18:39 PM PST by george76
MORE THAN 335 MILES OFF THE COAST OF COSTA RICA - A boarding team from the Coast Guard Cutter Midgett pulled up alongside the 35-foot-long submarine and tried to hail the crew in both English and Spanish.
...
The Midgett took the four sub crewmembers onboard the cutter. The men told the Coast Guard the vessel was from Colombia - and the purpose of their voyage was to transport cocaine.
The next morning, the Coast Guard boarded the vessel and found 300 bales of what was later determined to be cocaine - 6,000 kilograms in all.
All in a day's work for the cutter Midgett. The cuttter's home port is Seattle but came across the sub while returning from a patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
(Excerpt) Read more at katu.com ...
Coast Guard Cutter Midgett interdicts a 35-foot self-propelled semi-submersible vessel
Charlie Sheen and half of Hollywood is in mourning.
Right On Seattle!
I didn’t know our Coast Guard operated off Costa Rica.
Way to go! Midgett!
Colombia to Seattle seems an awfully long voyage (@3600 nautical miles) for a 4 man mini-sub to make. I’ve got to wonder if the thing has a mother ship, or if there are a number of hidden fueling stops along the way.
Not an expert on these things, though.
Whoops! Totally misread the story. Sorry!
*slinks off, red-faced*
Huh? 335 NM off the coast of Costa Rica is *in* the eastern pacific. California is in the eastern pacific. The whole west coast of north and south America is the eastern pacific.
That was my stomping grounds when I was a Coastie... many, many moons ago.
That’s a LOT of coke! Does anyone know the street value of a gram? Or whatever unit they use?
There's a lot about our Coast Guard that most people don't know. Yes, we operate throughout the pacific ocean. From north, central and south america out to Tahiti and the west Pac.
There's some other things they do, undercover and plainclothes, that would be fun to talk about. But I should probabaly stop there.
Dang, what’s the Midgett doing off the west coast? It belongs on the east coast.
History;
The Midgett’s are descendants of shipwrecked sailors along the NC outer banks who made their home there and later many were part of the US Lifesaving Service there along the coast, the predecessor to the US Coast Guard.
that stuff is bad for ones heart. theres a reason why some
folks die of heart attacks in their 50’s and its not always
naturally occurring heart disease.
stay out the nose candy..
Long run to Tahiti for the Coast Guard ?
With intercepts like this, one would think the war drugs wouldn’t be much of a war at all, but instead a brief, but total beat down.
Must be this sort of thing:
http://damncoolpics.blogspot.com/2011/02/drug-submarine-seized-by-colombian-navy.html
Heh... but yah, the CGC Midgett has been home-ported in Seattle for a couple decades now.
But worth the trip. :-)
Not that I have a problem with them busting drug runners on the open seas BUT is there some sort of treaty amongst nations that authorizes this activity by our Coast Guard? If the semi-submersible had chosen to maintain their coarse could the Coasties taken measures to stop them?
There are also cases of people who have died of heart failure after their first time using cocaine. Len Bias is probably one of the more notable cases.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.