Marijuana smugglers dumped bales of pot worth $32 million into the sea when a Newport Beach-based Coast Guard cutter started chasing a suspicious boat about 100 miles southwest of San Diego.
The five-tons of marijuana, wrapped in 136 large bales, were tossed overboard when the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Narwhal spotted a suspicious boat heading into U.S. waters. The pot smugglers managed to escape into Mexico waters early Monday.
Coast Guard Lt. Kristopher Ensley says it's the largest Southern California marijuana seizure in years and may be a Coast Guard record.
The lieutenant says the northbound boat, operating without lights, increased speed when it saw the cutter. The smugglers began tossing the bales of pot into the ocean and ran for Mexico waters.
