a record seizure of cocaine in a submarine

A 30-meter-long submarine was sailing just below the surface of the waters, loaded with cocaine. The Colombian military extracted three tons of it on Tuesday, May 9, on the west coast of the country. The boat was heading for Central America, the first leg of the traffic to the United States. On each of the small packages, a label on which is written “Toyota”. Smugglers like to sign their merchandise with the name of a major global brand.

A loss of 103 million dollars

For the sponsors, the seizure represents a loss of 103 million dollars. “It is the largest semi-submersible seized since 1993, the year the first vessel of this type was intercepted”, says Juan Pinilla, Captain of the Colombian Navy. For 30 years, the army has been tracking traffickers in the Colombian jungle and the workshops where they have their boats made. The hunt sometimes continues in the middle of the ocean, where submarines are intercepted.

For 30 years, 228 ships of this type have been intercepted. However, at least as many of them have been able to reach North America, and in recent years Europe.