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Dear Silky.
I question your friends judgement when he built a
submarine in the midst of the largest cannabis plantation in the world. It is
human nature to think....If it looks like a duck, walks like a
duck,
and quacks like a duck, it is probably a duck. I
can understand how the authorities whether right or wrong assumed it was for
drug smuggling. If he had notified the authorities before hand that he
was
building a sub and made sure they understood, this
might not have happened to him. It is unfortunate that someone has to let the
authorities know and maybe even get their permission
to do something that is not illegal like building
his sub. This does not excuse the authorities for making their mistake, but I
think it is understandable. It appears the authorities saved a little face by
retaining
the weapons charges for the spearguns being mounted
on it. They probably did this so your friend could not bring charges against
them. If they have something on him he most likely will not bring
charges
against them. Typical cover your butt procedure for
authorities caught making a mistake. One question. Did they return his sub to
him? I am going to suspect that they kept it and used the "weapons" charge to
justify him not getting his sub back. This way not
only do they save face, but they make sure his sub is never used for drug
smuggling. They might think it would be possible for a boat to tow the sub
underwater and unseen for some
distance, and then have a quick release cable on
the sub so it could detach if a patrol boat came along and the tow boat warned
the sub. This way the sub COULD be towed for a drug run and detach and hide
until a patrol boat left after inspecting the tow boat.
Then the sub could reattach the communications,
air, power and tow lines and continue on underwater with the tow boat. This is a
possible scenereo and I believe could be, or maybe already has been done. It
makes sense. It might sound difficult but
drug smugglers are crafty and the payoff is very
high when they succeed so they have a lot of money to built a complex,
detachable tow, sub. I always believe if it can be done, it will be
done, by someone eventually.
When my sub is operational I plan to join my close
by local coast guard auxillary. That way the coast guard will know about my sub
and myself, and hopefully this will preclude any misconceptions about my subs
use by the authorities. I foresee that I could get
some raised eyebrows from authorities what with all
the terrorism in the world and our increased homeland security (or lack thereof,
Lol) I plan to use common sense and be very open about my sub and its use. Me
helping in the coast guard
auxilliary is a good thing and doesn't hurt your
image in the eyes of the coast guard because they know what you are about and
this helps to avoid what happened to your friend. Being a member of the coast
guard auxilliary doesn't mean I
wouldn't be able to use the sub to attach
a limpet mine to a ship, but it sure makes it less likely in their
perception. That is what really counts here isn't it? The authorities mistaken
perception of your friend.
I sympathize with your friend. I do hope he got his
sub back but I doubt it.
Your point is very valid and well taken. Thank you
for sharing it with us.
Kindest Regards,
Bill Akins.
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