Tegucigalpa (Honduras), July 31 (IANS/EFE) A huge consignment of cocaine - 7.3 tonnes - has been found in a submarine off the coast of Honduras in the Caribbean, a top military official said.
Honduran Navy and the US Coast Guard found 2.8 tonnes of cocaine Thursday in initial searches of the wreckage, located at a depth of 36 metres, he said, adding that 4.5 tonnes were found Friday.
"This is the biggest blow to drug trafficking" in the country's history, armed forces chief Gen. Rene Osorio said.
Washington has asked that the drugs and four crew members of the submarine - a Honduran and three Colombians - be turned over for prosecution in the US.
The suspects were apprehended July 13 after they left the submarine and were fleeing in a dinghy. US Coast Guard divers later located the submarine on the sea floor some 16 nautical miles off the coast of Gracias a Dios province.