Cocaine Submarine Seized

(Mexico City) Last Wednesday, a 30-foot-long green submarine, packed with almost six tons of cocaine, was seized by the Mexican Navy in Pacific waters off the coast of Oaxaca, Mexico.

Mexican navy Vice Adm. Jose Maria Ortegon said the 30-foot (10-meter) green submarine was equipped with GPS and a compass, and its crew had planned to drop off its shipment on Mexican shores. The navy has since stepped up patrols in the area.

Authorities arrested four Colombian crew members who claim to be fishermen forced by drug cartels to move the cargo. They say they left the Colombian port of Buenaventura about a week ago.

Similar makeshift submarines carrying drugs have been discovered off Colombia and Central America, but the navy says the seizure is a first for Mexico.

U.S. intelligence information is said to have helped the Mexicans find the submarine.