Smugglers’ narco sub the catch of the day

The discovery of a narco submarine off the Spanish coast has confirmed to police that drug cartels are using the vessels to import cocaine into Europe.

Spanish police refloated a semi-submersible vessel that was found by fishermen on Wednesday in the estuary of the Arousa River in the northwestern region of Galicia.

Officers believe that the vessel is likely to have had a payload similar to one seized in the area in 2019 with its cargo intact. It carried more than three tonnes of Colombian cocaine, worth US$122 million (NZ$194m), and was abandoned by its pilot and two crew, who were later arrested and imprisoned.

Police suspect that the vessel found this week started its voyage in Brazil, because they discovered food, clothes and blankets from that country on board.

The boat is 23 metres long, 1 metre longer than the previous one, and is also made of fibreglass and has a similar design.

Investigators believe two speedboats found nearby on a beach in Ribeira are connected with the submarine, to clear the sub’s cargo or as part of a failed preliminary attempt to get the drugs to shore.

The La Voz de Galicia newspaper has suggested that the narco sub sailed off the Galician coast for two weeks before it could successfully offload its cargo.

The discovery of a second semisubmersible in Galicia follows the seizure by Colombian security forces last weekend of three narco subs, which sometimes make it to North America. In 2019, a submarine carrying cocaine worth more than US$165 million (NZ$263m) was seized by the US Coast Guard.

Global cocaine production has reached record levels as demand rebounds following lockdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic, a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has found. It said the cultivation of coca rose 35% between 2020 and 2021.