Mini submarine carrying 5.5 tons of cocaine intercepted by Texas officials

Baku. 26 March. REPORT.AZ/ A mini-submarine carrying $200 million worth of cocaine was intercepted by authorities in the 'Eastern Pacific Ocean'.

Officials said they intercepted the semi-submersible vessel attempting to bring 12,800 pounds or 5.5 tons of cocaine into the US, Report informs referring to the foreign media.

The cocaine was on a mini-sub called a narco-submarine, vessels made of fiberglass that are extremely hard to detect using radar and are commonly used by drug traffickers.

Because much of its structure is made of fiberglass and it travels mainly below the water surface, it is virtually impossible to detect via sonar or radar.

These vessels can carry a crew of at least four and dive down at least 30 feet below the surface.

A vessel’s design depends on how far they can travel. A mini-sub with two diesel engines, and sophisticated navigational equipment could travel long distances up to 2,000 miles at a speed of up to 11 miles per hour, according to IndraStra.

A team of U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents based in Corpus Christi, Texas, detected the self-propelled vessel earlier this month while conducting counter narcotics operations using a P-3 Long Range Tracker.