This is the shocking moment drug smugglers dumped bags of cocaine into the ocean during a dramatic high-speed chase with the US Coast Guard.
Footage released by the US Customs and Border Protection shows the alleged smugglers lugging heavy bundles of drugs overboard as they desperately try to flee the authorities in a speed boat.
The coast guard’s own cutter can then be seen in hot pursuit of the vessel as it crashes along eastern Pacific waters.
Its crew then reaches the suspects’ motorboat, guns drawn, where the nine smugglers surrender with their hands in the air.
Despite the suspects’ attempts to dispose of their illegal cargo, the coast guard’s Cutter Steadfast crew still managed to seize around 2,300lb of cocaine, worth more than £24million ($30 million), from their boat.
But this was just a small fraction of the US Coast Guard’s total Pacific Ocean haul from six separate operations off the coasts of Mexico and Central and South America.
The maritime authorities seized an estimated 26,000lb of cocaine, worth more than £280 million ($350 million), between late June and mid-July, recovered either directly from vessels or found floating in the ocean.
“This was 26,000 pounds of cocaine that will not make it to the main streets of the USA,” said 11th Coast Guard District commander Rear Adm. Peter Gautier.
“It also gives us the opportunity to make sure that we can continue to combat transnational criminal organisations that transport this cocaine deep in the Pacific every single day.
“Because we know that with a supply chain of illegal narcotics, at every single step there's violence, instability and despair.”
The Coast Guard has seized more than 230,000 pounds of cocaine and detained more than 400 suspected smugglers in drug transit zones in the eastern Pacific Ocean this year.
The Cutter Steadfast's commanding officer said he was proud of his “remarkable” crew, after they offloaded their 26,000lb of seized cocaine in San Diego on Friday.
“There are few closer relationships than those among the members of a ship's crew performing a dangerous, important mission,” he said.
“Steadfast's crew has worked as a remarkable, dedicated team with a strong common goal - protecting their nation from the deadly, destructive effects of illegal drugs.
“I'm very proud of each and every one of them, and commend them for their hard work and dedication to keep themselves and their ship prepared for this vital work.
“Something that makes their achievement even more impressive, is that before leaving homeport on June 13th, nearly a third of this crew had never sailed before on Steadfast – a true testament to the emphasis we put on standards and training.”
