Colombian anti-narcotic police found a submarine, allegedly used for drug trafficking, in a make-shift shipyard in Puerto Escondido in the department of Cordoba, Caracol Radio reported Tuesday.
After several months of investigation, with the support of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), as part of the “Operation Republic 72 Phase VII” the ship was found on the Caribbean side of the department.
Police reported that when they arrived at the scene of the submarine discovery they were met by gunfire from persons in the area who fled soon after.
The submersible, made of fiberglass, is suspected to belong to the drug-trafficking group “Los Urabeños,” whose head bosses are brothers Dairo Antonio and Juan de Dios Usuga David.
The vessel is roughly 66 feet long, valued at $1.5 million dollars, and is capable of carrying up to 6 tons of drugs, according to the police.
On September 24 in Buenaventura, a submersible was seized with a modern navigation system and the capacity to transport between nine and ten tons of drugs.
Two days later, in the jungles of Condoto in the department of Choco, in Northeast Colombia, authorities found another submarine capable of carrying up to four tons.
In these two cases, authorities indicated that the submarines belonged to the FARC.