Drug smuggling

$312 million of cocaine seized from 'go-fast' vessels, narco sub, US Coast Guard says

The U.S. Coast Guard has seized over 18,000 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $312 million in a series of drug busts in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

The operation, part of joint efforts involving five separate Coast Guard cutter crews, concluded with one vessel, the Bertholf, off-loading the entire amount seized at the marine terminal in San Diego on Wednesday.

Each crew was responsible for locating thousands of pounds of drugs between mid-October and early December, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a news release.

There were seven separate vessels intercepted, including one "self-propelled semi-submersible vessel (SPSS) or narco submarine," officials said.