16,000 pounds of cocaine found

A U.S. Coast Guard crew based in Northern California has seized more than six tons of cocaine worth an estimated $181 million from a partially submerged vessel in the Pacific Ocean, the agency announced Thursday.

The July 18 bust occurred 200 miles off the coast of Central America, after a Navy maritime patrol aircraft spotted the vessel and alerted the Coast Guard cutter Stratton, said Petty Officer Michael Anderson.

The four men in the vessel were taken into custody, officials said.

Inside the vessel was 16,000 pounds of cocaine, Anderson said. The Coast Guard crewmen loaded 275 bales, or 12,000 pounds, of the cocaine onto the Stratton. They left 4,000 pounds of cocaine on board the vessel for balance as they towed it to shore.

But before the Coast Guard could make it to shore, the smuggling vessel took on water and sank, cocaine and all. The Coast Guard considers the cargo lost, Anderson said.