VIDEO: U.S. Coast Guard jumps onto submarine as part of US$569M drug bust

Dramatic video has captured members of the U.S. Coast Guard jumping onto a submarine suspected of drug smuggling in order to intercept the vessel.

The video from June 18, released on Thursday, shows multiple coast guard vessels chasing down the “narco-submarine” before a few of the officers jump onto the ship. Soon after, one of the officers begins repeatedly banging on a hatch before an unidentified person opens it.

The coast guard said the interception is part of a US$569 million drug bust involving 14 vessels between May and June. In total, the crew confiscated 17,690 kilograms of cocaine and 423 kilograms of cannabis in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence, who was in San Diego, Calif., for the drop off, said 55 alleged smugglers will be prosecuted.

“Your courageous service is saving American lives,” Pence told the coast guard workers during his speech.

.@VP is welcoming back the crew of CG Cutter Munro as they turn over 39K lbs of cocaine from drug seizures like this one from a semi-submersible off South America to federal agents. We will be live-streaming the offload on Facebook in a few hours. More: https://t.co/5eQRbQpxw5 pic.twitter.com/9bMRorDC4I

— U.S. Coast Guard (@USCG) July 11, 2019