The U.S. Coast Guard pulled 7,600 pounds of marijuana from a drug-laden panga boat off the coast of San Diego Friday.
Coast Guard officials say a C-130 Hercules aircraft crew spotted a suspicious panga while on routine patrol about 160 miles southwest of San Diego.
Soon after, Coast Guardsmen on a cutter were ordered to check the boat. On board, they discovered 257 bales of marijuana and three suspected smugglers.
The crew detained the suspects and towed the panga back to San Diego, where it arrived Saturday morning.
The suspects were handed over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s San Diego Marine Task Force for prosecution, and the agency confiscated the marijuana as evidence.
