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.[1] [2] [3]
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 7.7t was seized on a semi-submersible craft.[4] Some contemporary narco-subs are capable of crossing the Atlantic Ocean.[5]
During the Prohibition in the United States, bootleggers used low-profile river boats to evade authorities.[6]
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.[7]
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.[8]
In 2006 a submarine was seized southwest of Costa Rica.[9] The U.S. Coast Guard dubbed it Bigfoot because they heard rumors of their existence, but never saw any.[2] 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.[10] 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,[11] 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.[12] In 2008, the Mexican Navy intercepted a 10m (30feet) submarine in international waters about 200km (100miles) 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.[13] [14] [15] [16] [17] Also in 2008, the U.S. Coast Guard captured a semi-submersible vessel in international waters about 563km (350miles) west of Guatemala; it was carrying an even seven tons of cocaine.[18] [19] The 18m (59feet) 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 18m (59feet) semi-submersible was seized in international waters by the USCGC Midgett about 322km (200miles) south of Guatemala.[20] [21] Several other submarines were intercepted, but not seized because their crews scuttled them upon interception.[22] [23]
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.[24] The Colombian navy had intercepted or discovered thirty-three submarines by 2009.
After the November 5, 2010, arrest of Harold Mauricio Poveda,[25] 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.[26] [27]
In 2012, United States Coast Guard officials expressed concerns such vessels could potentially be used for terrorism.[28]
In 2015, the largest recorded seizure was after a cargo of 7.7t was seized on a semi-submersible by .[29]
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.[30]
In 2017, the U.S. Coast Guard detained a semi-submersible off the coast of Texas carrying 3800lb of cocaine,[31] and on 13 November the US Coast Guard located and seized another one off the coast of Panama.[32]
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.[33] [34] Operation Black Tide: The Suicidal Journey, a book from author Javier Romero, is a detailed narrative of the enterprise. Amazon Prime Video has made Romero's book into both a television documentary account of the voyage and a drama serial, released in February and March 2022.[35]
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.[36]
According to a press-release, on November 5, 2020, a submarine was seized in Colombia.[37] A further interception was made in October 2021 by the Ecuadorian naval training ship Guayas in the Pacific Ocean.[38]
The drug trafficker Laureano Oubiña affirmed the existence of a marine cemetery of narco-submarines near the Canary Islands (Spain).[39]
A 22m (72feet) 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.[40] The vessel had a central hold with a load capacity of five tons, a forward ballast tank and a diesel engine at stern.[41]
Each vessel can cost upwards of two million dollars to construct; submarines can move enough cocaine in a single trip to generate more than US$100 million in illicit proceeds for the traffickers.
Colombia's Pacific coastline is filled with thick jungles and waterways, which can be used as clandestine shipyards.[42] A Colombian Navy commander stated that it is most striking to notice the logistical capacity required of these criminals in order to take all the material into the heart of the jungle, including heavy equipment such as propulsion gear and generators. Some vessels are put together 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 capacity. An long narco-submarine can reach speeds of 18km/h 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 3200km (2,000miles), and are equipped with satellite navigation systems and long-range HF-SSB radio communications capabilities. There is no head (toilet), and accommodation is cramped.
Because much of its structure is fiberglass and it travels barely 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 venting it, making the boat even less susceptible to infrared detection.[2] They are most easily spotted visually 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.
These are the typical characteristics as stated by the U.S. Joint Interagency Task Force South:
Narco-submarines were considered by officials to be an oddity until 2000, when Colombian Police discovered what was reported to be a half-built 36 m-long[43] true submarine in a warehouse outside Bogotá.[44] The double-hulled steel vessel could have traveled 3,700 kilometers, dived 100 m,[43] and could have carried about 15 tonnes of cocaine.[43]
On 3 July 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 31metre long, a 3metre 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 20metre, and the capacity for long-range underwater operation. Ecuadorean authorities seized the vessel before its maiden voyage.[45] [46] [47]
On 14 February 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 9metre below water and it could carry four people and up to 8 tonnes of cargo.[48]
In August 2005, authorities discovered an uncrewed semi-submersible in the Pacific Ocean,[49] a "torpedo-style cargo container" (instead of a full-featured self-propelled ship). These versions use a ballast tank (submersion control) to keep them at about 30metre under water while towed by a fishing vessel.[50] If a patrol ship is spotted, the "torpedo" cargo container is released. While submerged, it automatically releases a buoy concealed as a wooden log so it would be mistaken for marine debris. This log-buoy is equipped with a location transmitter system so coworkers can retrieve the torpedo after the vessel and her crew are released by authorities. If the original vessel was detained or otherwise unable to retrieve the cargo torpedo, the location transmission system also allowed for a second support fishing vessel to retrieve it and then continue the delivery. Such a log-buoy was designed to be used as a last resort; risks are involved with the deployment of said buoy:
The buoy contains a mechanism to temporarily raise then lower its antenna to transmit its coordinates in encrypted form at irregular intervals. Encrypted codes are used in case of signal interception. Such an encryption could, at a minimum, delay authorities in their attempt to reach the cargo, allowing the narco-traffickers to reach it first. This system evolved from existing buoys used on fishing nets. The buoy designers claim a near 100% shipment delivery success, and state the "torpedo" development is evolving into remote-control using encrypted signals transmitted via satellite.[50]
Similar to most coastlines, the western Colombian shore is ideal for smuggling. About a third of the two tons of cocaine coming out of Colombia each day leaves via the Pacific coast in semi-submersibles.[52] Homeland Security estimate submarines carry one-third of smuggled maritime goods to United States customers, while claiming they "are clueless" about the rest.[53]
Elsewhere, the U.S. Coast Guard say smugglers are evolving complete logistics:
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.[2]
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.[55]
In 2006, a 10metre sub was discovered on the north coast of Spain, but its use is unknown.[56]
In March 2006, according to a press release, the Calabrian Mafia ('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.[57]
In 2007, the U.S. Coast Guard adjusted their underwater acoustic sensors to listen for submarines.[58] 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.[59]
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.[60] [61]
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''.[62]
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.[62]
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.[63]
