A submarine capable of transporting eight tons of cocaine has been seized by authorities on Colombia’s southwest Pacific coast, EFE reported Monday.
The submersible was reportedly ready to embark upon its maiden voyage and would have been able to travel as far as Mexico had it not been intercepted Sunday in rural Timbiqui, Cauca.
“It is the first submersible to be seized in the country,” said General Jaime Herazo. Semi-submersible vessels, which cannot go fully underwater, have been in use by Colombian drug traffickers for some years.
The captured vessel “can travel up to nine meters underwater,” added Herazo, saying that the ship was made of fiberglass and contained all the necessary technology to submerse itself fully.
Costing an estimated $2.12 million, with the capacity for four crew members, Herazo believes that the ship belongs to “narco-traffickers coupled with narco-terrorists, who received a heavy blow [due to its capture].”
The army general was nevertheless unable to identify the specific owners at this time, although the computer and guns found inside may provide an answer.
The immobilization of the submarine was the culmination of a joint operation by the navy, the Colombian air force and the inspector general.