Crime Cocaine-laden Colombian Narco Submarines Are Bigger, Faster, and More Sophisticated Than Ever

[Arkain2K]

Thread Index:

• Ecuador Seizes Five Tons of Drugs from Narco-Submarine in the Galapagos (Nov 25, 2023)
• Colombian navy seizes 20th "narco sub" of year, this one loaded with 3.3 tons of cocaine (Oct 12, 2023)
• Colombian Navy intercepts ‘largest ever’ narco-submarine in history (May 14, 2023)
• "Prince of Semi-Submersibles" gets 20 years in U.S. prison for operating fleet of cocaine-laden narco subs (May 9, 2023)
• First transatlantic 'narco sub' carrying 'tonnes of cocaine' captured off Spanish coast (Nov 27, 2019)
• Coast Guard captures 'narco sub' carrying $165 million in cocaine (Sep 24, 2019)
• Inside a Submarine That Transports Illegal Drugs
• Members of the US Coast Guard board drug-smuggling vessel (July 12, 2019)

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This is getting more and more frequently.

14 narcos submarines carrying over half a billion dollars worth of cocain were intercepted by the U.S Coast Guards in the last two months alone.

Members of the US Coast Guard board drug-smuggling vessel
By jesse convertino and elizabeth mclaughlin | Jul 12, 2019



Dramatic video shows a U.S. Coast Guard cutter, the Munro, pursuing a speeding semi-submersible suspected drug-smuggling vessel in the middle of international waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

In footage taken on June 18, a Coast Guard crew member repeatedly shouts "Stop the boat!" in Spanish at the submersible.

The crew member -- a member part of a Coast Guard law enforcement detachment -- calls out, “It’s going to be hard to get on.”

One of two Coast Guard boats seen in the video then closes in on the submersible, as two crew members jump on top of it. One of the crew members makes his way to the hatch, pounding on it until an unidentified individual opens it.

The video ends there.

Marine patrol aircraft first spotted the submersible and communicated its location to the Munro, Coast Guard spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Stephen Brickey told ABC News.

The cutter then launched a helicopter beyond the line of sight of the submersible, and directed the two smaller boats to its location.

"It's really difficult to detect, and so, the aircraft that are out there searching for it do a wonderful job]," Capt. Jim Estramante, commanding officer of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Munro, told ABC News. "The one in our case did a wonderful job locating it. And I tell ya, we were just within a few miles from the vessel from the Munro while our small boats were on scene with it."

The 45-foot-long submersible was traveling around 10 miles per hour "hundreds of miles off the Ecuadorian/Colombian border," Brickey said.

The team that boarded the submersible specializes in high-risk boarding and was armed with night vision to see into the submersible's dark hatch.

Five individuals were on board the vessel, and the Coast Guard seized around 17,000 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $232 million, the spokesperson said.

"This is as satisfying as it gets. It's the largest [bust] in the Coast Guard since 2015," Estramonte said. "The crew is ecstatic, everyone plays a part in it, not just the folks on deck doing the boarding. We ran at our highest speed to get there all day. It was an all-hands-on-deck evolution, and the crew worked their tails off to get there."

The use of semi-submersible vessels for drug smuggling is rare, as they are costly to build, according to the Coast Guard.

"It happens probably every year or two [we find a submersible," Estramonte said. "We happened to have [multiple] cases in a couple weeks when we were out there on patrol. But it's a pretty rare occurrence, and they do hold a large quantity of cocaine on board as well."

From May through July, the Coast Guard said that three of its cutters have seized more than 39,000 pounds of cocaine and 933 pounds of marijuana through 14 separate drug busts off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/members-us-coast-guard-board-alleged-drug-smuggling/story?id=64276131

 

[tonni]

Submarines are a distraction from the real problem.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...over-attempt-to-smuggle-cocaine-under-his-wig

 

[Sketch]

CIA improving it's methods I see.

 

[Sketch]

CIA improving it's methods I see.

 

[cottagecheesefan]

Damn, that video was pretty intense. Take balls to jump on a moving sub in the moving ocean and open up the top with your face right there to be shot (if they were going to resist)

 

[AlexDB9]

CIA improving it's methods I see.

So nice you said it twice

Seriously though that dude banging on the hatch has steel balls. I’m guessing these guys would rather surrender than have a nice sea burial

 

[grihenrumet]

CIA improving it's methods I see.

Yeah so true .

 

[Phr3121]

The U.S. Coast Guard is no longer part of the DoD, it is now part of Homeland Security.
If it is a submarine, why did it not submerge?
Is it SOP for the U.S. Cost Guard to open hatches and stick their head inside? 99% chance of being shot.
Drop a grenade instead...

 

[Phr3121]

...and open up the top with your face right there to be shot.

Yeah, only dumb-fucks do that. Dropping a grenade would be the recommended procedure.

 

[AlexDB9]

The U.S. Coast Guard is no longer part of the DoD, it is now part of Homeland Security.
If it is a submarine, why did it not submerge?
Is it SOP for the U.S. Cost Guard to open hatches and stick their head inside? 99% chance of being shot.
Drop a grenade instead...

I don’t think most of these “subs” can even submerge. You aren’t guaranteed to come back up. They are just easier to hide within mangroves

 

[TheLastSpartan]

"ALTITUDE BARCODE!!!"

In all seriousness, that was pretty captivating footage.

Makes me want to rewatch Narcos.

 

[freakroor]

So americans obviously love cocaine.

 

[AgonyandIrony]

So americans obviously love cocaine.

 

[Arkain2K]

I don’t think most of these “subs” can even submerge. You aren’t guaranteed to come back up. They are just easier to hide within mangroves

Here ya go:

Colombia's Pacific coastline, where muddy rivers loop into the ocean, has long been a smugglers' paradise. Behind the jagged cliffs that jut into the ocean is a vast jungle, laced with mangrove-fringed coves and thousands of miles of waterways, easy to use as clandestine shipyards. A Colombian Navy Commander stated that it is most striking to notice the logistical capacity required of these criminals in order to take all the material into the heart of the jungle, including heavy equipment such as propulsion gear and generators. Sometimes they are put together in pieces and then reassembled in other locations under the jungle canopy, in camps outfitted with sleeping quarters for workers.

The narco-submarines can cost about $2 million USD and take upward of a year to build. Despite the costs, some of the craft are intended for one-time use, being abandoned at sea after a successful delivery. After all, their cargoes carry a street value of up to $400 million.

On other seized craft however, officials found zinc bars used as sacrificial anodes, reducing corrosion on metal parts exposed to seawater. As corrosion would not be a concern on a single trip but is a factor influencing long-term durability, this is a clear indication that multiple use was intended. This, in turn, opens up the question of any illicit return cargo, like weapons, that they might carry back to Colombia.

Newer narco-submarines are nearly fully submersible, designed specifically to be difficult to detect visually or by radar, sonarand infrared systems.

The design and manufacturing techniques employed in their construction have improved over time: the boats have become faster, more seaworthy, and of higher capacity than earlier models. An 18 m (59 ft) long narco-submarine can reach speeds of 18 km/h (9.7 knots) and carry up to 10 tons of cocaine. They are typically made of fiberglass, powered by a 225–260 kW diesel engine and manned by a crew of four. They have enough cargo space to carry two to ten tons of cocaine, carry large fuel tanks which give them a range of 3,200 km (1,700 nautical miles), and are equipped with satellite navigation systems.

Because much of its structure is fiberglass and it travels barely under the surface, the vessel is nearly impossible to detect via sonar or radar, and very difficult to spot visually. The newer models pipe their exhaust along the bottom of the hull to cool it before venting it, making the boat even less susceptible to infrared detection. They are most easily spotted visually from the air, though even that is difficult as they are camouflaged with blue paint and produce almost no wake. They have ballast tanks to alter the vessel's buoyancy so that they ride low in the water.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narco-submarine

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

Here ya go:

Colombia's Pacific coastline, where muddy rivers loop into the ocean, has long been a smugglers' paradise. Behind the jagged cliffs that jut into the ocean is a vast jungle, laced with mangrove-fringed coves and thousands of miles of waterways, easy to use as clandestine shipyards. A Colombian Navy Commander stated that it is most striking to notice the logistical capacity required of these criminals in order to take all the material into the heart of the jungle, including heavy equipment such as propulsion gear and generators. Sometimes they are put together in pieces and then reassembled in other locations under the jungle canopy, in camps outfitted with sleeping quarters for workers.

The narco-submarines can cost about $2 million USD and take upward of a year to build. Despite the costs, some of the craft are intended for one-time use, being abandoned at sea after a successful delivery. After all, their cargoes carry a street value of up to $400 million.

On other seized craft however, officials found zinc bars used as sacrificial anodes, reducing corrosion on metal parts exposed to seawater. As corrosion would not be a concern on a single trip but is a factor influencing long-term durability, this is a clear indication that multiple use was intended. This, in turn, opens up the question of any illicit return cargo, like weapons, that they might carry back to Colombia.

Newer narco-submarines are nearly fully submersible, designed specifically to be difficult to detect visually or by radar, sonarand infrared systems.

The design and manufacturing techniques employed in their construction have improved over time: the boats have become faster, more seaworthy, and of higher capacity than earlier models. An 18 m (59 ft) long narco-submarine can reach speeds of 18 km/h (9.7 knots) and carry up to 10 tons of cocaine. They are typically made of fiberglass, powered by a 225–260 kW diesel engine and manned by a crew of four. They have enough cargo space to carry two to ten tons of cocaine, carry large fuel tanks which give them a range of 3,200 km (1,700 nautical miles), and are equipped with satellite navigation systems.

Because much of its structure is fiberglass and it travels barely under the surface, the vessel is nearly impossible to detect via sonar or radar, and very difficult to spot visually. The newer models pipe their exhaust along the bottom of the hull to cool it before venting it, making the boat even less susceptible to infrared detection. They are most easily spotted visually from the air, though even that is difficult as they are camouflaged with blue paint and produce almost no wake. They have ballast tanks to alter the vessel's buoyancy so that they ride low in the water.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narco-submarine

 

[oldshadow]

The Coast Guard learned how to deal with this and should go back to that proven method.

 

[Deleted member 484047]

So americans obviously love cocaine.

That was just Charlie Sheens personal shipment.

 

[Arkain2K]

Heart-pounding video of the U.S. Coast Guard seizing cocaine from a drug submarine has captured America’s attention. What exactly are these vessels being used to move contraband? In 2008, Inside Edition got a look inside a drug submarine that's manufactured by the cartels. The courageous Coast Guard officers who leaped aboard that drug sub in the viral video are being praised by President Trump. The coast guard seized about 16,000 pounds of cocaine from the vessel.

 

[Ruprecht]

The U.S. Coast Guard is no longer part of the DoD, it is now part of Homeland Security.
If it is a submarine, why did it not submerge?
Is it SOP for the U.S. Cost Guard to open hatches and stick their head inside? 99% chance of being shot.
Drop a grenade instead...

"Semi-submersible". Looking at the exhaust setup and size, I doubt it's got batteries so it's not actually a sub.

 

[Prutfis]

Submarines are a distraction from the real problem.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...over-attempt-to-smuggle-cocaine-under-his-wig

Trump might become a fashion icon. You could hide a couple of Kgs under that fucked up combover.

 

[Confucamus]

Heart-pounding video of the U.S. Coast Guard seizing cocaine from a drug submarine has captured America’s attention. What exactly are these vessels being used to move contraband? In 2008, Inside Edition got a look inside a drug submarine that's manufactured by the cartels. The courageous Coast Guard officers who leaped aboard that drug sub in the viral video are being praised by President Trump. The coast guard seized about 16,000 pounds of cocaine from the vessel.

That is as bad ass as it gets.