CONFISCATED DRUG SHIP BECOMES NEW ARTIFICIAL REEF

NEAR DEERFIELD BEACH, FL-- A mission nine years in the making is reality tonight.

Federal, state and local law enforcement teamed-up with water-lovers to turn a negative into a big positive.

"The project we've been working on finally came to fruition," said Craig Ash of Cepemar Environmental Services.

The "Lady Go Diver" headed across a canal in Deerfield Beach.

On-board the scuba ship were divers with their gear, journalists armed with a pen and paper and videographers shooting the beautiful landscape.

"It's good to see all of your efforts turning-up for something that will be beneficial," said Ash.

As the ship left the Boca Inlet, you got a feel for the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean and the land we left behind.

The boat's captain steered her to a spot about a mile out, along the Broward-Palm Beach County line.

This is where dozens of boaters gathered to witness the spectacular event.

Meanwhile, US Customs & Border Protection boats joined vessels from the sheriff's office to maintain safety.

"You see the flare, the smoke has got to go off," said one of the event organizers.

"Customs & Border Protection has donated a freighter for the artificial reef program," said agent Robert Del Toro. "We'll be sinking the vessel today."

Last June, the feds confiscated 165 kilos of cocaine from the Miss Lourdies.

The 165-foot ship was in Miami, picking-up cars, bicycles and mattresses to sell in Haiti, when the discovery was made.

Authorities actually had to take some bunk beds and walls out of the ship's crew cabins. They found the drugs inside a metal compartment.

Cameras rolled to capture the freighter's journey more than 100 feet to the bottom of the ocean.

"There's a lot of boats here, a lot of people" said "Lady Go Diver" scuba boat owner Arilton Pavan. "Everybody's watching. I think the idea worked out very well."

Within minutes, the Miss Lourdies disappeared into the big blue sea, to eventually become a part of nature's underwater landscape.