Spanish police confiscated this homemade narcosubmarine capable of carrying up to 2.2 tons of cargo.
Photo:
National Police / Associated Press
Spanish police said on Friday they had seized a 30-foot-long submarine that could carry 2.2 tonnes of narcotics, a sign of the lengths that cartels will carry illegal drugs on the booming European market.
Police said they discovered the narcotics tube in Malaga on Spain’s Costa del Sol last month as part of an international police operation that led to the arrest of 52 people and the seizure of more than 400 kilograms of cocaine, along with other illegal drugs and cash.
The ship was made of fiberglass and plywood and powered by two 200-horsepower engines, although it never sailed, police said.
Narco-subs are semi-submersible that float mostly below the waterline and have long been cocaine transported from Colombia to Central America. In 2019, Spanish law enforcement forces discovered a narcosub off the Atlantic coast of Spain, confirming persistent rumors that they may reach Europe.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration said Europe had overtaken the US as the world’s largest cocaine market. Most cocaine shipments are hidden on container ships calling at large ports, such as Antwerp in Belgium and Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
Spanish police said the narcosub discovered last month was most likely destined for the transport of cocaine from a larger ship that would have transported across the Atlantic Ocean.
Write to James Marson at [email protected]
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