Makeshift Submarine With Cocaine Seized
U.S. Coast Guards, working with the Costa Rican Servicio de Guardacostas (coast guard) and Colombian national police,   seized a makeshift submarine carrying 3.5 tons of cocaine in the Pacific Ocean off  Isla del Coco (Coco Island) on Sunday.

On board were four people: two Colombians, one Guatemalan and a man believed to be from Africa.

The submarine appeared to be a makeshift vessel unlike military submarines or those used by oceanographers. It could only submerge 6 feet under water, Costa Rican Coast Guard spokesman Jose Antonio Fallas told the press.

The 45-foot-long vessel was found last Wednesday near the remote island, southwest of the mainland, and had traveled hundreds of miles from Colombia on its way to the United States.

Because part of the vessel was submerged, it made it more difficult for authorities to detect the drugs and the materials used in its construction made it invisible to satellites.

Following the capture, the vessel was taken to the Puntarenas port, meanwhile the crew on board were taken to the United States to be prosecuted, Fallas said.

The U.S. Coast Guard frequently patrols for drug shipments off Costa Rica but the latest seizure was believed to be the first time a submarine has been caught there.

Yesterday's haul was small compared to the seizure of last October 22, when authorities intercepted a boat with 8 kilos of cocaine on board near the Galapagos islands and October 9th when four Costa Ricans were detained with 3.5 tons of cocaine off the coast of Guatemala.

In September, authorities detained a vessel with 125 kilos of cocaine, again off Guatemala's coast and on September 20, in Panamanian waters, a fishing boat was stopped with 600 kilos of cocaine and 34 kilos of heroine on board.

Authorities confirm that the Pacific has become the main drug route to the United States and Canada.