Watch: Columbian Navy Seizes First Narco-Sub Of 2024 With 800 Kg Cocaine

The Colombian Navy captured the first narco-submarine of 2024 off the coast of the nation. Nearly 800 kilograms of cocaine were found on board on Saturday. The 15-meter homemade submarine destined for Europe and the United States carried little packages with Mexican flags and scorpion stamps. Even though this seizure was thought to be minor in comparison to prior years, it emphasises the continuous difficulty Colombia faces in controlling the manufacture of cocaine.

Captain Wilmer Roa, a spokesman for the Colombian Navy, stated that ten narco-submarines—some of which were carrying as much as 3,500 kilograms of cocaine—were apprehended in 2023 alone. The nation has been dealing with an upsurge in cocaine production, especially as drug trafficking organisations and rebel groups take advantage of the space left by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia insurgents following the 2016 peace agreement.

#LoUltimo 🚨la @armadacolombia realizó interdicción de un semisumergible que transportaba 7️⃣9️⃣5️⃣ kilogramos de
clorhidrato de cocaína en el Pacífico centro.

Este sería el primer artefacto ilegal incautado en el año ✅ pic.twitter.com/E63vJmL2DY

— Fuerza Naval del Pacífico (@FNP_ArmadaCol) January 21, 2024

Video Credits: Fuerza Naval del Pacífico/Twitter

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime has released alarming numbers showing that in 2022, Colombia’s coca bush area reached a record 230,000 hectares and that the country’s potential cocaine production surged to 1,700 tons, a 24% increase from the previous year.

Ecuador has developed into a popular transit country for the smuggling of cocaine on a transnational scale. According to recent reports, Colombia’s Navy provided intelligence that allowed Ecuadorian officials to seize a submarine that was transporting 3.2 tons of cocaine. Drug traffickers turn speedboat hulls into submersibles, allowing discreet navigation just below the surface of the water.

There’s another big operation going on in the Pacific Ocean at the same time as the narco-submarine intercepted off Colombia. Over a thousand pounds of cocaine were found on board a semi-submersible that the Colombian Navy captured on Sunday and was headed for Central America. Three people boarded the ship, decorated with scorpion emblems and other marks. A total of 795 kilograms, or 1,753 pounds, of cocaine, valued at almost $27 million, were found during testing. The “narco sub,” the semi-submersible, is challenging to find since it never wholly submerges.

Twenty semi-submersibles were stopped by the Colombian Navy in 2023, which resulted in the seizure of thirty tons of cocaine and more than five tons of marijuana. The Navy emphasised in a statement on Sunday that all logistical and operational resources must be deployed in the ongoing fight against drug trafficking networks in the Colombian Pacific.

Reference: AP News, CBS News

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