The Colombian navy has recently struck another blow against cocaine smuggling. She stopped a drug submarine in the Pacific en route to Central America, a major transit route for drug smuggling to the United States.
The cocaine found on the 17-meter semi-submersible boat has a black market value of more than $81 million, the Colombian navy announced. The number of semi-submersibles seized this year by Colombian authorities alone has already risen to 13, it said on Wednesday.
Crew wanted to sink submarine
With suicidal intent, the crew attempted to sink the submarine and its cargo by opening the ship’s flaps when they noticed the approaching naval units. But these arrived in time and could have prevented the sinking of the drug submarine and its crew, it said.
They then seized 125 black packages totaling 2,410 kilograms that were on board the blue semi-submersible. Its contents were later identified as cocaine hydrochloride – the most common form of cocaine on the black market. The three crew members were arrested and face 14 years in prison.
Record amount of cocaine seized
Last year Colombia seized more cocaine than any year before. Security forces seized a whopping 671 tons of the drug in 2022, surpassing the 2021 figure by about 1.7 tons.
Cocaine production and trafficking is considered the main cause of an armed conflict in Colombia that has now lasted nearly six decades and has so far claimed more than 450,000 lives and millions of people displaced.
Source: Krone
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