Colombian police find drug submarine

Colombian police today discovered what they called an ingenious drug trafficking tool - a fibreglass submarine capable of transporting up to 10 tons of cocaine.

The vessel was nearly seaworthy and lacked only communications equipment when it was found close to a Pacific Ocean inlet in western Colombia, said Eduardo Fernandez, head of Colombia’s secret police in Valle del Cauca state.

“The ingenuity of drug traffickers is amazing. They will seek any way to avoid the coast guard,” Fernandez said.

He said the submarine could have been used to ferry cocaine offshore to speed boats, which would then take the drugs to Central America or Mexico, for eventual delivery to the United States.

Fernandez said no arrests were made in the operation run by the secret police, or DAS, and the Colombian navy. The submarine was found in Tumaco, 372 miles southwest of Bogota.

The investigation began six months ago after authorities were tipped off about a shipment of fibreglass and other materials to the construction site, the official said.