The Mexican Navy announced Friday that it has seized more than 8.3 tons of drugs in the Pacific Ocean, a record for a single operation at sea. The illicit cargo was intercepted from six different ships, including a semi-submersible “narco-submarine” carrying about 4,800 pounds of narcotics, officials said.
“Navy personnel seized 8,361 kilograms of illicit cargo, representing the largest quantity of drugs seized in a maritime operation, unprecedented in history,” the Department of Navy said in a news release.
It did not specify the type of drugs involved, but said they were worth 2.099 billion pesos (about $105 million).
Twenty-three people were arrested during the bust, which took place southwest of the port of Lazaro Cardenas, off the west coast of Mexico.
Mexican Navy
The drugs were distributed in six small boats and one of the vessels was a semi-submersible – commonly known as a “narco-sub” – which officials said required “complex” action on the part of the sailors.
“The strategy and the high level of training of the naval personnel made it possible to be put into full motion on the ship from the air from a helicopter, a high-risk maneuver because it requires absolute mastery of boarding techniques under extreme conditions,” said the navy.
Semi-submersibles, which cannot go completely underwater, are popular among international drug traffickers because they can sometimes escape detection by law enforcement agencies.
The Navy has released more than a dozen images of the operation, showing both the “narco sub” and hundreds of packages of alleged drugs, including some with the Pepsi logo and others marked “JK8.”
Mexican Navy
The largest drug seizure in Mexico’s history involved 23 tons of Colombian cocaine in November 2007.
Mexico has been the center of drug trafficking to the United States for decades, with a host of cartels vying for control of the trade.
The state of Michoacan, off the coast of which the seizure took place, is the scene of clashes between criminal gangs, including the powerful Jalisco Nueva Generacion cartel, one of Mexico’s most powerful and violent criminal groups.
The latest raid reported on Friday was carried out “days ago” by surface units supported by a helicopter, the ministry said.
About 8,700 liters of fuel, another of the illegal trades controlled by drug cartels, was also found on the raided ships.
Mexican Navy
On August 23, authorities reported seizing approximately seven tons of drugs in two separate operations in the same part of the country.
The Mexican Navy, which maintains permanent surveillance, has discovered all kinds of drugs, including a shipment of cocaine stuffed into 217 barrels of chili sauce in 2016. Earlier this year, the Navy seized more than seven tons of suspected cocaine. two separate attacks in the Pacific, and dramatic video conquered the high-speed pursuits on the open sea.
Mexico has been a drug trafficking route to the United States for decades, sparking disputes between various narco groups.
The country’s first female president Claudia Sheinbaumwho took office on October 1, faces a major challenge in tackling the drug cartels and related crimes.
She has vowed to stick to her predecessor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s “hugs, not bullets” strategy of using social policies to tackle crime at its roots.
More than 450,000 people have been killed and tens of thousands have gone missing across Mexico in a spiral of violence since the government deployed the military to combat drug trafficking in 2006.
