narco-submarine

A narco-submarine (also called a drug sub or narco-sub) is a type of custom ocean-going, self-propelled, semi-submersible or fully-submersible vessel built by (or for) drug smugglers.

Newer semi-submersibles are "nearly-fully" submersible in order to reduce likelihood of detection by visual, radar, sonar, or infrared systems. Cargo capacity varies widely with vessel size, although several tons is typical. In 2015, the largest-known cargo of was seized on a semi-submersible craft. Some contemporary narco-subs are capable of crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Meanwhile, recently captured vessels in the central Pacific during the mid 2020s indicate said vessels are increasingly durable enough for their operators to attempt voyages across the Pacific to Oceania.

History

During the Prohibition in the United States, bootleggers used low-profile riverboats to evade authorities.

In the 1980s, go-fast boats were the smuggling vessel of choice in many parts of the world. Go-fast boats became more vulnerable to radar detection as radar technology improved, leading to the development of semi-submersibles.

In 1988, an uncrewed submarine was found off Boca Raton, Florida. It was designed to be towed by a boat and submerged by remote control. The sub was empty, but officials and authorities believe it was used for smuggling after it was realized the hatch could be opened only from the outside.

2000s

In 2006 a "submarine" was seized southwest of Costa Rica. The U.S. Coast Guard dubbed it '' Bigfoot'' because they heard rumors of their existence, but had never seen any prior to this find. In 2006, the U.S. detected three vessels in total, and they estimated between twenty-five and forty semi-subs departed from South America in 2007.

In 2006, a sub was discovered on the north coast of Spain, but its use is unknown.

In March 2006, according to a press release, the Calabrian criminal organization 'Ndrangheta ordered a shipment of nine tons of cocaine to be transported by a narco-submarine from Colombia to Italy, but according to a countering press release, the vessel was discovered by Colombian and Italian police during construction.

During the first six months of 2008, the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy detected forty-two subs off the coasts of Central America, but few seizures resulted. According to various press-releases, the projected eighty-five narco-submarine voyages by the end of 2008 could potentially bring about 544 tons of cocaine to U.S. customers. In 2008, the Mexican Navy intercepted a submarine in international waters about southwest of Oaxaca. Mexican Navy Special Forces fast-roped from a helicopter on to its deck and arrested four smugglers. According to one press-release, the vessel carried 5.3 tons of cocaine; it was towed to Huatulco, Oaxaca, by a Mexican Navy patrol boat. Also in 2008, the U.S. Coast Guard captured a semi-submersible vessel in international waters about west of Guatemala; it was carrying an even seven tons of cocaine. The steel/fiberglass vessel was detected by a U.S. Navy aircraft as part of Operation Panama Express, and was intercepted by Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment 402 aboard USS ''McInerney''. Five days later, an semi-submersible was seized in international waters by the USCGC ''Midgett'' about south of Guatemala. Several other submarines were intercepted, but not seized because their crews scuttled them upon interception.

In 2009, the U.S. detected "as many as sixty" submarine related events, and calculated they were moving as much as a ton of cocaine daily. In the same year, three submarines were seized on the shores of the Pacific coast, loaded with 1.5 tons of cocaine. The Colombian Navy had intercepted or discovered thirty-three submarines by 2009.

2010s

After the November 5, 2010 arrest of Harold Mauricio Poveda, a key Mexican–Colombian link, enhanced interrogation revealed that the FARC ( Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) were behind the construction of submarines and were collaborating with the Sinaloa Cartel to fund their activities.Detienen al Conejo, proveedor de El Barbas
''El Universal''. November 5, 2010 (in Spanish)

In 2012, United States Coast Guard officials expressed concerns such vessels could potentially be used for terrorism.

In 2015, the largest recorded seizure was after a cargo of was seized on a semi-submersible by .

In 2016, the U.S. Coast Guard seized a semi-submersible in international waters about 300 miles west of Panama, carrying about 6 tons of cocaine with a street value of about $200 million to U.S. customers.

In 2017, the U.S. Coast Guard detained a semi-submersible off the coast of Texas carrying of cocaine, and on 13 November the US Coast Guard located and seized another one off the coast of Panama.

In 2019, Spanish authorities apprehended a 20 m semi-submersible off Galicia, containing 3,000 kg of cocaine, in the first known incident of a narco-submarine crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

A narco-submarine was captured by the Peruvian Navy on 8 December 2019 carrying over 2,000 kg of cocaine off of the coast of the Department of Piura.

2020s

According to a press-release, on November 5, 2020, a submarine was seized in Colombia. A further interception was made in October 2021 by the Ecuadorian naval training ship '' Guayas'' in the Pacific Ocean.

The drug trafficker Laureano Oubiña affirmed the existence of a marine cemetery of narco-submarines near the Canary Islands (Spain).

A long semi-submersible made of vinyl carbon fiber, christened by its builders ''Poseidón'' was found sunk without cargo by the Guardia Civil in the Ria of Arousa in March 2023. The vessel had a central hold with a load capacity of five tons, a forward ballast tank and a diesel engine at stern.

In 2024, the Colombian Navy captured a semi-submersible carrying 5 tonnes of cocaine 1,200 miles southwest of Clipperton Island in the Eastern Pacific in a 62 country operation. Having been captured over 3,000 miles from the Colombian Coast, the incident has been cited as proof that drug cartels are now willing to use narco-submersibles for direct drug smuggling to Australia and New Zealand over the 4,000-mile route in place of hiding smaller amounts of narcotics in commercial shipping.

Vessel types

Manned smuggling vessels

Semi-submersible

Colombia's Pacific coastline possesses thick jungles and waterways, which can be used as clandestine shipyards. A Colombian Navy commander stated that it is most striking to notice the logistical capacity required in order to transport all the required materials into the jungle, including heavy equipment such as propulsion gear and generators. Some vessels are built 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, given that 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 would affect long-term durability, this is an indication that the vessel was intended to be used for multiple voyages.

The design and manufacturing techniques employed in their construction have improved over time: the boats have become faster, more seaworthy, and of higher cargo capacity. An long narco-submarine can reach speeds of and carry up to 10 tons of cocaine. They are typically made of fiberglass, powered by a 225–260 kW diesel engine and crewed by a complement 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 , and are equipped with satellite navigation systems and long-range HF- SSB radio communications capabilities. There is no head (toilet), and accommodation is cramped.

As much of its structure is fiberglass and it travels just 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 being exhausted, making the boat even less susceptible to infrared detection. They are most easily spotted 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.

=Typical characteristics

=
These are the typical characteristics for semi-submersibles as stated by the U.S. Joint Interagency Task Force South:
*Hull material: wood, fiberglass, or steel
*Length 12–24 m
* Freeboard 0.5 m
*Engines: single or twin diesel
*Fuel capacity: 5.6 cubic metres
*Range: 3200 kilometers
*Speed: 11 km/h or more
*Crew: 4
*Capacity 4–12 metric tons
*Control: human or remote

True submarines

Narco-submarines were considered by officials to be an oddity until 2000, when Colombian Anti-Narcotics Police discovered what was reported to be a half-built 36 m-longEl 'narcosubmarino' Colombiano
''El Pais''. 11 September 2000. true submarine in a warehouse outside Bogotá. The double-hulled steel vessel could have traveled 3,700 kilometers, dived 100 m, and could have carried about 15 tonnes of cocaine.

On July 3, 2010 the Ecuadorian authorities seized a fully functional, completely submersible diesel-electric submarine in the jungles bordering Ecuador and Colombia. It had a cylindrical fiberglass and kevlar hull long, a conning tower with periscope, and air conditioning. The vessel had the capacity for about 10 tonnes of cargo, a crew of five or six people, the ability to fully submerge down to , and the capacity for long-range underwater operation. Ecuadorean authorities seized the vessel before its maiden voyage.

On February 14, 2011 another submarine was seized by the Colombian Navy. The 31 m-long fiberglass and Kevlar vessel was found hidden in a jungle area in Timbiquí, in south-western Colombia. It was capable of travelling below water and it could carry four people and up to 8 tonnes of cargo.

Unmanned underwater vehicles

In 2022, Spanish police seized three unmanned underwater vehicles used to smuggle drugs across the Strait of Gibraltar from Morocco, the first known interception of such devices. The drones, carrying up to 200 kg of narcotics each, were linked to French cartels. The operation led to eight arrests and exposed a gang using advanced drones and modified vehicles for trafficking across Europe (BBC, 2022).

Whale-shaped mini-submarines

In 2025, international drug cartels began using sophisticated whale-shaped mini submarines to smuggle cocaine into Australia via Cyprus. These vessels are transported on cargo ships, dropped in international waters, then retrieved by smaller boats to deliver drugs ashore, posing a significant challenge to law enforcement detection efforts.

Operations

Operators

* Clan del Golfo
* National Liberation Army (ELN)
* Oliver Sinisterra Front
* Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
* Sinaloa Cartel

Routes

The western Colombian shore is ideal for smuggling. Of the two tons of cocaine coming out of Colombia daily, about a third leave via the Pacific coast in semi-submersibles. Homeland Security estimate submarines carry one-third of smuggled maritime goods to United States customers, while claiming they "are clueless" about the rest.

Elsewhere, the U.S. Coast Guard say smugglers are evolving complete logistics: fishing vessels along the way warn the crews against patrols and provide them with refreshments, while offshore refueling vessels provide unlimited loiter time so smugglers can avoid coastal areas.
For smugglers, the trips are worth the investment—a nine-ton load earns nearly US$200 million wholesale from U.S. customers. Professional fishermen are often at the controls and earn about US$3,000 after completing the excursion.

Submarine smugglers unload their cargo onto fast-boats for the final leg to shore. According to press-releases, none of the submarines are known to unload at North American ports or beaches.

Drug mules of the Chipitos branch of the Sinaloa Cartel reportedly hate submarine duty.

Countermeasures

Surveillance

In 2007, the U.S. Coast Guard adjusted their underwater acoustic sensors to listen for submarines. According to a 2019 press-release, the U.S. Coast Guard reports they capture only 11% of submarines on the East Pacific route. The same source acknowledged that the U.S. Coast Guard was overstretched at the time.

Legal

If various militaries attempt to seize the semi-submersibles in international waters, the crews usually scuttle them. Until 2008, in accordance with international maritime law, the crew was rescued, and, if there was no evidence of wrongdoing, released. To address this loophole, the US Drug Trafficking Vessel Interdiction Act in September 2008 made it a "felony for those who knowingly or intentionally operate or embark in a self-propelled semi-submersible (SPSS) without nationality and that is or ever navigated in international waters, with the intent to evade detection". The penalty is a prison term of up to twenty years in the U.S.

The U.S. law does not apply to flagged vessels (i.e., registered with some officially recognized government). The bill grants extraterritorial jurisdiction over international waters and makes it illegal to lack relevant documents. Instead of an anti-narcotics operation turning into a rescue mission after submarines are sunk, the crew can be detained and interrogated using exigent methods.

In 2009, Congress of Colombia passed a law punishing builders of semi-submersible vessels with up to 12 years in prison, or 14 years if they are used to transport drugs.

Security issues related to "torpedo-style cargo containers", semi-submersible vessels, and submarines were reviewed in an August 2012 article in the U.S. publication Homeland Security Affairs.

See also

* Anti-submarine warfare
* Illegal drug trade
* Illegal drug trade in Colombia
* Merchant submarine
* Mérida Initiative
* Mexican Drug War
* Narco tank
* Plan Colombia
* Prohibition of drugs

References

Further reading

*"''Ayer Médico, Hoy Narco – El Mexicano que Quizo ser Pablo Escobar''" (In Spanish) Author: Miguel Angel Montoya. Publisher: Oveja Negra. . Biography, includes one chapter on the narco-submarine and narco torpedo development.

External links

Drug Submarines' CultureDoes 'Smuggler's Corridor' Now Extend to South America?Authorities in Awe of Drug Runners' Jungle-Built, Kevlar-Coated SupersubsAnatomy of a narco-submarine, El Pais (In Spanish)

;Videos:

Colombian traffickers moving drugs in submarines

US Coast Guard intercepts drug running submarine

Rep Poe Worried About Drug Running Submarines

;Photo gallery:

by H. I. Sutton.
Drug cartels; secret weapon

{{DEFAULTSORT:Narco Submarine
Merchant submarines
Illegal drug trade techniques
Illegal drug trade in the Americas