HUATULCO, Mexico, July 17, 2007
Mexico Seizes Homemade Drug Submarine
Vessel Taken With Load Of Cocaine From Colombia, 4 Suspects Say They Were Forced Into Trip
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Mexican navy sailors ride on top of a seized drug smuggling submarine as it was being towed off the coast of the Pacific resort city of Huatulco, Mexico, July 16, 2008. (AP Photo/Miguel Tovar)
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Similar vessels carrying cocaine have been discovered off Colombia and Central America, but navy spokesman Capt. Benjamin Mar said the seizure is a first for Mexico.
The 30-foot makeshift submarine was detected heading north about 200 miles off the southern state of Oaxaca, Mar said.
The green-topped, arrowhead-shaped vessel was intercepted when it surfaced hours later, and the crew was taken into custody without resistance.
The suspects were flown by helicopter to the city of Huatulco, where they told reporters they left the Colombian coastal town of Buenaventura a week ago.
The crew members said they were fishermen forced to make the journey by drug traffickers who threatened to harm their families.
"We didn't know what was on board because we never saw it. It was sealed," said one of the four, Jose Felix Enriquez.
The navy said in a statement that the sub was apparently packed with cocaine, but authorities were still determining how much was on board.
Colombia's drug cartels have been known to use home-built submarines to smuggle large amounts of cocaine past U.S. and Colombian patrol boats to Central America en route to the United States.
Colombian authorities have discovered at least nine such vessels over the past three years. Last August, U.S. forces intercepted a submarine-like vessel packed with tons of cocaine off the coast of Guatemala.
© MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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- oh great - now i have to switch back to meth - yo mexico, just bring the stash over the border (hey, people know i''m only kidding :))
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- I''m sure the cops there will put it back into service for their own drug trade purposes.
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- Mexicans can''''t build a house how could they build a....never mind.
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Posted by SkyFive ......
they build houses much faster and Cheaper.. - Reply to this comment
- its created an underground economy,
but, even drug enforecement needs this economy
and the special agent @sswipes need it for their promotions and their raises,
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Posted by six-six-seis at 10:53 AM : Jul 18, 2008
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and underground economy that thrives on misery and pain..our law enforcement officers are not being paid ''by the arrest numbers or % on drug busts or sales''..the resources wasted can be diverted to other problems in society..like getting rid of illegals.. - Reply to this comment
- Dang! First the price at the pump and now the price at the pimp!
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- this means no drugs for snoop doggie dog and george jesus bush tonight
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- Ringo has denied all responsibility for this submarine.
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- Posted by newsjunky5
LOL.....
i was being sarcastic of course,
Drug use here at home is causing much more than the hangover, its created an underground economy,
but, even drug enforecement needs this economy
and the special agent @sswipes need it for their promotions and their raises, - Reply to this comment
- "the Submarine was made in Colombia,
intercepted by the Mexican Coast guard,
So as a consequence, Peggy Sue wont be doing any drugs tonight in Lubbock. "
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I disagree. Peggy will be getting as buzzed as usual, but it will cost her more. Which means more of her cash gets invested elsewhere, not in our economy. - Reply to this comment
- it is like society is not weak enough that, along with alcohol and tobacco, you would add another poison??????????????????? what you are going to do is put these criminals from underground to the boardrooms..AND THEN YOU CANNOT STOP IT AT ALL AS THEY EXPLOIT YOUR ARSE!
Posted by libsluv2spit
Guess you never knew that there are already 25,000,000+ marijuana smokers in America. Or you never noticed that 82% of domestic violence is alcohol related.. Or that the prisons are filled with pot smokers and small time dealers while child molesters and white collar crimes are set free... - Reply to this comment
- the Submarine was made in Colombia,
intercepted by the Mexican Coast guard,
So as a consequence, Peggy Sue wont be doing any drugs tonight in Lubbock. - Reply to this comment
- When seeing the article''s title I thought I''d pop in and see if it was painted yellow,....for old time hippy sake of course.
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- THIS PROVES WHAT IVE ALWAYS SAID THE MEXICANS HATE COMPETITION SO MUCH THEY ARE WILLING TO SMUGGLE THIER DRUGS IN A WHAT IM SURE IS A JERRIE RIGGED SUBMARINE.THIS ACTUALLY FUNNY.
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- Next they''ll be sending it in baloons progammed to deflate over L.A.
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- I can see the headlines now: Mexico is proud to announce it has launched the newest addition to it''s Navy! The newly repainted sub was launched this week with a crew of three, and a bath tub stopper. The head of the Mexican fleet announced that ''no expense has been spared in seeing to the safety of the crew.''
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- Posted by libsluv2spit ..
aleluyah, now go preach in a mejdi neighborhood, that would impress me more.....
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Posted by six-six-seis at 03:32 PM : Jul 17, 2008
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maybe you should hang around with ''preachers'' a lot more than you do with ''drug dealers''. - Reply to this comment
- You obviously need to get out of your house more...
How is what you describe any different that is happening today from the Boardrooms of our Investment Banks, Oil Companies, Alcohol and Tobacco, Gun Companis, Pharmaceuticals...really is there any difference at all...except to say that Marijuana and Coke dealers don''''t pay taxes!
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Posted by ozilot at 02:58 PM : Jul 17, 2008
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like i said..you talk like corruption and exploitation from the "Investment Banks, Oil Companies, Alcohol and Tobacco, Gun Companis, Pharmaceuticals" is not enoug, you simply just want to add one more..HEY LETS ADD CHILD PORNOGRPAHY..cant stop perversion right..lets legalize it and tax it SEEEEESH!!! what you need to do is STAY HOME MORE OFTEN..your mind is polluted with too much outdoor flith. - Reply to this comment
- libsluv2spit: I love Pulp Fiction, too, dude!!!
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- Posted by libsluv2spit ..
aleluyah, now go preach in a mejdi neighborhood, that would impress me more..... - Reply to this comment
- Why yes...if drugs were legal we could tax them and the third world would be able to pay its debt...for that matter Hawaii and California could pay the U.S. debt with the premo weed they grow!
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Posted by ozilot at 02:31 PM : Jul 17, 2008
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it is like society is not weak enough that, along with alcohol and tobacco, you would add another poison??????????????????? what you are going to do is put these criminals from underground to the boardrooms..AND THEN YOU CANNOT STOP IT AT ALL AS THEY EXPLOIT YOUR ARSE! - Reply to this comment
