Jim popkin marvels at the story of mauner mahecha, a highschool educated drug smuggler who recruited members of the colombian navy to a build a fleet of subs. If the coast guard can find smugglers above the water, drug runners were going to. Police in spain have seized a submarine carrying cocaine off the coast of the northwest galicia region which had arrived from south america. Drug cartels today are much more organized, adaptive, and strategic. Coast guard cutter munro crew interdicts suspected drug smuggling vessel dod 1069995725d2aa0d64235b. The use of submarines by colombian drug dealers is a long standing practice to move their cocaine shipments from their labs in the jungle to other countries further north and eventually to mexico or the united states, breitbart news reported. The drug smugglers build the submarines in hidden locations deep in the jungles of south america, and american lawenforcement officials say that the. These purposebuilt vessels are one way colombian cartels smuggle drugs. They are also looking for efficiency, and a few transport methods offer the combination of volume and stealth that drug submarines provide. The latest models come with ac, shark paint jobs and quickscuttle technology to easily sink the ship and the drugs inside them. How a drug runner built a fleet of submarines in the. Narcosubmarine, narcotics, cocaine, drug smuggling.
Smuggling drugs in submarines public radio international. Inside a submarine that smugglers use to transport illegal. Drug smugglers pose underwater challenge in caribbean. A narcosubmarine is a type of custommade oceangoing selfpropelled submersible vessel built by drug traffickers to smuggle drugs.
Although they occasionally deploy true submarines, most are selfpropelled semisubmersibles, where a portion of the craft remains above water at all times. The marketing advertisement for this new publication states narco submarines provides a goto guide to the lowprofile vessels used to smuggle narcotics in latin america and across the atlantic. A total of nine semisubmarines were confiscated in 2009, preventing drug smugglers from exporting about 30 tons 27,216 kg of cocaine. Not drugmanufacturing operationstheyre making submarines. Drug submarines are becoming increasingly popular for drug smugglers seeking a new diy solution to bring more of their drugs into america. Hence, drug smugglers have both economic and strategic incentives to invest in narco submarine technologies. A total of nine semisubmarines have been confiscated in 2009, preventing drug smugglers from exporting about 30 tons 27,216 kg of cocaine. The next generation of cocainesmuggling drug submarines. The high seas how a high schooleducated drug smuggler built a fleet of submarinesin the middle of the jungleto ferry cocaine to the united states. First true submarine captured from american drug smugglers. These sources provide tangible evidence of the risks, rewards, and organization of.
Specially fabricated vessels used for drug smuggling. A narco submarine discovered off the coast of spain appears to confirm suspicions that drug smugglers have developed vessels capable of crossing the atlantic, which is of huge significance for law. Creative smugglers may be using small submarines operated by remote control to hide their contraband when drug agents approach their vessel, officials said. And from a strategic viewpoint, drug smugglers through their narco submarines are able to effectively counteract militaries and agencies surveillance moves. Media in category smuggling submarines the following 27 files are in this category, out of 27 total.
Divers from the task force against drug trafficking. Bumper cocaine harvests are fuelling a boom in narco submarines semisubmersible speedboats which smuggle the drug from cartel production houses in south america. But in the last decade the drug gangs have developed real submarines, capable of carrying 510 tons of cocaine that cost a. This unique book systematically breaks down the types and families. Colombian drug smugglers started using unconventional hull designs in the 1990s. Delivery by sea is now the favored method for cocaine smugglers, because the united states has deployed military grade aircraft detection systems, and caught too many of the airborne drug shipments. A narco submarine discovered off the coast of spain appears to confirm suspicions that drug smugglers have developed vessels capable of crossing the. The drug barons may find, however, that they need to. A narcosubmarine also called drug sub is a type of custommade oceangoing selfpropelled submersible vessel built by drug traffickers to smuggle drugs. They are especially known to be used by colombian drug cartel members to export cocaine from colombia to mexico, which is often then transported overland to the united states. Colombian drug smugglers built this stealthy, special.
The book, drug subs, written by dr robert spalding is the first factual book in. Inside seized drugsmuggling submarines photo essays time. Ildefonso ortiz is an awardwinning journalist with breitbart. Drug smugglers turning to homemade submarines homemade submarines, dubbed semisubs have become more than just a nuisance in the international drug trade. How drug smuggling narcotics submarines boom is fuelled by.
Drug smuggling submarine seized with ten tonnes of cocaine off guatemalan coast a makeshift submarine laden with at least ten tonnes of cocaine. Us coast guard seizes narco submarine with cocaine in. Creative drug smugglers turn to submarines upi archives. Coast guard seizing cocaine from a drug submarine has captured americas attention. This submarine was built at the nominal cost using conventional theories. The crazy reallife drug smuggler behind american made. Columbia uses submarines to smuggle drugs submarine diary. Us coast guard the coast guard said it intercepted six narco subs during fiscal year 2016. Colombian drug smugglers built this stealthy, special forcesinspired boat trading raw speed for stealth, socalled very slender vessels are designed to slice through the waves and deliver drug. In total, the coast guard seized 39 tons of cocaine and nearly 1,000 pounds of marijuana from drug smuggling vessels in the eastern pacific between may and july of this year. Ludwig fainberg, also known as tarzan, was convicted of helping to orchestrate the sale of a soviet submarine to colombian drug smugglers. For the past 25 years, drug smugglers have hidden entire manufacturing operations beneath these trees.
The diy submarines smuggling millions of dollars of. Remember the drug smugglers submarine that was captured by ecuadoran police last year. Officer jumps on submarine to bust alleged drug smugglers. Wet mangroves line the rivers that meet the ocean along colombias pacific coast. Jim popkin of wired wrote a detailed look at its design after reading a report by the us navy.
This book is brought to you for free and open access by the cgu faculty. Dramatic video shows coast guard nabbing suspected drugsmuggling submarine. Now drug smugglers turn to submarines the scotsman. Colombian navy personnel escort a semisubmarine, which, according to colombian authorities, is used to transport illicit drugs, at the atrato river in turbo province, near medellin, june 1, 2009. Among the confiscated marijuana catapults and engineered megatunnels, a new fleet of dieselpowered, fully submersible narcosubs are seeking to make their mark, reports popular science.
Colombian drug smugglers caught using electrical submarines. Narco submarines originating out of colombia to principally move cocaine up. I hadnt heard of your book, although should have as a former ussvi associate and a current uss cod advisory group member. Inside a submarine that smugglers use to transport illegal drugs. How drug smugglers are using submarines to smuggle. Cocaine seized from narcosubmarine in spain was likely headed. I highly recommend this book for people who are interested in submarines andor the war on drugs, as well as anyone serving in the united states coast guard. Colombian drug traffickers have found a new way to elude authorities. Colombian narcotraffickers use underwater crafts to sink to new depths getting their products to market. Concerns have also been raised that such vessels could be utilized for purposes of terrorism. The book drug subs is available now online death by pedicure. In recent years, iran and north korea have stepped up their procurement of midget subs, colombian drug smugglers have turned to them to elude law enforcement, and, perhaps most unsettling.
The coast guard captured this semi sub with seven tons of cocaine and took video of the squalid crew compartments before they sank this ship. From memory, i painted the rustic home depicted in this book. Smugglers have developed a variety of inventive methods to move drugs and other contraband across borders. The 75foot boat was capable of shipping about 9 tons of cocaine. Drug smugglers on drug smuggling features interviews with 34 convicted drug smugglers most of them once major operators detailing exactly how drugs are smuggled into the u. The capabilities of these craft has noticeably increased. It is a true story and the uss torsk ss423 is a floating museum in baltimore, md. A recent development is the deployment of socalled narco submarines by south american drug smugglers to evade law enforcement detection. Drug smugglers methods hiding places business insider. Signal mountain, tn prweb april 21, 2010 the newest privately released book on the us market called, drug subs.
The diy submarines smuggling millions of dollars of cocaine into the u. The hull, they discovered, was made from a costly and exotic mixture of kevlar and carbon fiber, tough enough to withstand modest ocean. Drug czar john walters said friday that the success in capturing subs has contributed to a reduced supply of. One of the drug worlds most daring and ingenious smugglers, seal was an action junkie who flew low and used gulf of mexico oil. However by 1956, while i was still in monrovia, there were approximately 75,000 illegal miners, who were smuggling these valuable stones on. But after the submersibles crew scuttled the vessel. A boat of this type was, since they first appeared in the early 1990s, thought to be the only practical kind of submarine for drug smuggling.
A large portion of the three tonnes of cocaine smuggled aboard the narcosubmarine seized by spanish police last weekend would have. Dramatic video shows the coast guard trying to stop a vessel suspected of smuggling drugs into the united states. In an eerie parallel to modern air and sea warfare, the drug cartels went from fast but easy to detect speedboats to slower, lowprofile semisubmersibles and actual submarines. The worldwide invasion by the narcosubmarine fleet tells the history of submarines and how the black market has embraced them for drug smuggling around the world, and what authorities have started to. Authorities say they are bracing for the day when smugglers figure out how to make fullfledged submarines capable of diving deep and navigating even more quietly than the current generation. Us coast guardsmen sit atop a narco sub stopped in the pacific ocean in september 2016. These arent the crude semisubmersibles that drug runners have used for years.
Drug smuggling submarine caught with ten tonnes of. Based on 10 years of research of over 180 reported incidents 1990spresent, this book presents a practical quick reference guide. Drug smugglers are known for their ingenuity when they explore different ways to move narcotics under the noses of law enforcement authorities. The smugglers did their math, and realized that improvised submarines were. The dense tropical canopy beneath them makes for stifling heatand the perfect cover from prying u. The lowslung, dieselpropelled vessel, painted a dark shade to blend with the water, was believed to be carrying several tons of cocaine. Colombias narcosubmarines a photo essay world news the.