An operation of the division of Air and Marine Operations (AMO) of the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency in the Gulf of Mexico ended with the interception of a self-propelled semi-submersible loaded with almost four tons of cocaine. Five people were arrested.
According to CBP estimates, the seized drug would have reached a market value of about 108 million dollars. The agency explained in a release that one of the AMO planes was conducting a patrol through the waters of the southwestern Mexico in collaboration with the Center for Information Analysis, the South Inter-Agency Joint Task Force, and other law enforcement agencies when they detected the semi-submersible. The crew raised the alarm and proceeded to monitor their movements. Subsequently, the agents coordinated the interception of the vessel, which resulted in the seizure of 8,232 pounds of cocaine and the arrest of five suspects.
More than 100 tons of drugs seized in 2023
Marshall Dillon, Director of Air and Marine Operations at the National Air Safety Operations Center in Corpus Christi, noted the teamwork as the key to capturing a device that is virtually undetectable in the open sea:
This is another great example of the collaborative work that takes place every day between AMO and our partners to prevent illicit drugs from entering our country. The P-3 aircrew detected, tracked, and directed the interdiction of this SPSS by one of our partners. This seizure prevented more than $108 million in illicit proceeds from going to transnational criminal organizations.
So far this fiscal year, the AMO more than 100 tons of drugs have been seized, being cocaine , with more than 151,000 pounds, the most intercepted. Last fiscal year, the work of this CBP division resulted in 967 arrests and 134,981 apprehensions of people without papers. Regarding the fight against drug trafficking, the agents proceeded to seize 250,616 pounds of cocaine1,475 pounds of fentanyl, 25,625 pounds of methamphetamine, 1,342 weapons, and $21.7 million.
100 TONS OF DRUGS SEIZED! AMO crews worked with partner agencies in operations that resulted in the seizure of 200,000 lbs of narcotics in the first 8 months of FY 23. Learn more and find more statistics at the link below!
— CBP AMO (@CBPAMO) July 19, 2023
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