A federal grand jury indicted six Colombian nationals for operating a narco-submarine fleet to bring 5,000 kilograms of cocaine to the U.S. The crew is being held in Colombia, where they were arrested by authorities. The vessels are camouflaged to avoid detection and have become a significant force in the international drug trade, carrying millions of dollars worth of cocaine per vessel. The crew faces up to life in prison if convicted.
The Colombian crew ran their operation from Colombia’s Pacific coast using a sophisticated organization involving financial investors, engineers, and spies disguised as fishermen. They were caught twice in 2023 within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the U.S. carrying thousands of kilos of cocaine.
Narco-submarines have been used by drug traffickers since the late ’80s, becoming a major method of transporting drugs. The vessels are handcrafted, hermetically sealed, and painted to avoid detection. They have allowed producers in Colombia and Ecuador to expand their business with major distributors in Mexico.
American authorities have been successful in intercepting narco-submarines and arresting crew members and those receiving the drug shipments. The latest success was the arrest of the six-man Colombian crew, with previous cases resulting in significant prison sentences for those involved in narco-submarine trafficking. The efforts to combat narco-submarine trafficking involve coordination between different agencies and international partners to intercept drug shipments at sea.
