That Is One Big Narco Sub Caught Off The Coast Of Europe

Warzone/The Drive: The First Narco Submarine Ever Seized Off A European Coast Is A Monster

This is the first time authorities in Europe have intercepted one of these vessels, which have been a staple in Latin American drug smuggling.

Spanish authorities have successfully recovered a so-called narco submarine that they seized in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the country's Galacia region this past weekend. This is the first time any country in Europe has seized one of these smuggling vessels and it's not entirely clear how it made the thousands-of-miles-long journey from Latin America.

Spain's Guardia Civil, National Police, and Customs Service captured the craft off Galacia on Nov. 24, 2019. The crew had attempted to scuttle it after failing to transfer the approximately three tons of cocaine onboard to another vessel due to poor weather. Those same conditions prevented Spanish security forces from refloating the drug sub until late the next day. They then towed it to port and it has now been pulled out of the water for further inspection.

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WNU Editor: No word yet on where did it come from, and did it do the journey across the Atlantic (in primarily bad weather) by itself.

Narco Smugglers Expand Their Use Of Submarines

Members of the Colombian Navy provided security near a semi-submersible vessel discovered in 2009. Vessels like this can surreptitiously carry tons of drugs. Jose Miguel Gomez/Reuters

To Smuggle More Drugs, Traffickers Go Under the Sea -- New York Times

KEY WEST, Fla. — For more than 24 hours last September, a Coast Guard helicopter and speedboat pursued drug traffickers and their contraband across the Caribbean Sea. Finally they caught up with the improbable vessel, the latest innovation in the decades-old drug war. It was a submarine.

The low-slung, diesel-propelled vessel, painted a dark shade to blend with the water, was believed to be carrying several tons of cocaine. But after the submersible’s crew scuttled the vessel and abandoned ship, the Coast Guard was able to salvage only two 66-pound bales of narcotics.

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Update: The Feds Can't Catch the Cartels' Cocaine-Filled Submarines -- Yahoo News/The Atlantic

My Comment: They have the money ... so it becomes only a question of .... do they have a proper functioning sub .... and do they have a crew. Hmmm .... it appears that they do.

Mexico's Sinaloa Drug Cartel Expansion To Spain Thwarted By Police

Spanish officials involved in the operation seized a container with 373 kg of cocaine in the port of Algeciras Photo: REUTERS

Spanish Police Thwart Mexican Cartel Attempting To Set Up In Europe -- The Telegraph

Spanish police, working closely with the FBI, have smashed an attempt by Mexico's biggest drugs cartel to set-up in Europe.

The plan to move-in on the lucrative European cocaine market, especially in Britain, was thwarted in an operation code-named Dark Waters, launched by Spain's National Police counter drugs and organised crime unit and the FBI office in Boston more than three years ago, it was revealed on Friday.

The National Police went public following the arrest of four top members of the Sinaloa cartel – considered to be the world's biggest criminal organisation – including a cousin of the gang's leader, Joaquin Guzman, known as "El Chapo", the most wanted drug dealer in the world.

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More News On The Spanish Police Thwarting Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel In Setting Up In Europe

Spanish police thwart move by Mexican drug cartel -- FOX News/EFE
Mexican drug cartel members arrested in Spain -- Al Jazeera
Spain seizes members of major Mexican drug cartel -- Chicago Tribune/Reuters
Spain seizes four Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel suspects -- BBC
Spanish police, Boston FBI say they foiled Mexican drug cartel expansion in Europe -- FOX News/AP
Mexico drugs suspects held in Madrid -- Euronews
Spanish bust nets hundreds of kilos of cocaine -- CNN

My Comment: I guess the U.S. market has become too small for this Mexican drug cartel.

The Rise Of The Narco-Sub

This 2009 file photo shows an aerial view of a semi-submarine, which, according to Colombian authorities, is used to transport illicit drugs, is seen at the Atrato River in Turbo province, near Medellin. John Vizcaino/REUTERS/File

Coast Guard Siezes 'Narco-Sub' In Caribbean -- Christian Science Monitor

Some 80 percent of cocaine leaving South America goes by sea, highlighting the importance of maritime routes to traffickers, writes a guest blogger.

As the US Coast Guard intercepts a drug-smuggling submarine in the Caribbean, the 30th such vessel intercepted since 2006, Southern Command has called for closer partnerships with authorities throughout the region.

A Miami-based aircrew spotted the suspicious semi-submersible vessel on March 30, and the Coast Guard dispatched two boats to intercept it. The crew of four sank the craft before they were apprehended.

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My Comment: The subs that are being used are "crude" in design .... but I suspect that better and more expensive models are being planned .... or constructed .... or being used right now.

Cocaine Trafficking In West, Central Africa To Europe Continues To Expand

UN Estimates Cocaine Trafficking In West, Central Africa Generates $900 Million Annually -- Washington Post/AP

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. agency that fights drugs and crime estimated that cocaine trafficking is generating some $900 million annually in West and Central Africa as South American cartels use the shortest route to transport drugs to Europe.

Yuri Fedotov, the head of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that in addition to an upsurge in cocaine trafficking, West Africa is experiencing an increase in piracy, arms and human trafficking.

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My Comment: This story is (unfortunately) nothing new. This blog has been covering this growing problem for years .... see here, here , and here. Of course .... there is also an Al Qaeda link.

Did The U.S. Government Allowed Cocaine To Enter The U.S. For Information

Drug Trafficking In Central America
The volume of drugs passing through Central American countries has risen in recent years. Shipments of cocaine and other drugs originate in Colombia and Venezuela, and travel by sea and air to Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and other countries. Overland routes bring the drugs into Mexico and then to the United States. Source: NPR, STRATFOR Credit: Stephanie d'Otreppe/NPR

Documents: Feds Allegedly Allowed Sinaloa Cartel To Move Cocaine Into U.S. For Information -- El Paso Times

U.S. federal agents allegedly allowed the Sinaloa drug cartel to traffic several tons of cocaine into the United States in exchange for information about rival cartels, according to court documents filed in a U.S. federal court.

The allegations are part of the defense of Vicente Zambada-Niebla, who was extradited to the United States to face drug-trafficking charges in Chicago. He is also a top lieutenant of drug kingpin Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman and the son of Ismael "Mayo" Zambada-Garcia, believed to be the brains behind the Sinaloa cartel.

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My Comment: First guns, now this. If true, what is happening in Washington? Where is Congress who is suppose to oversee this? Where is the Justice Department and White House?

Drug Smugglers Are Now Employing Larger Subs In Colombia

Captured: Soldiers stand guard on top of a seized submarine built by drug smugglers in a makeshift shipyard. The engines were installed and ready to make the voyage to Mexico

Rumbled In The Jungle! Drug Gang's DIY Submarine - Capable Of Carrying Eight Tons Of Cocaine - Is Seized In Colombia -- Daily Mail

Colombian soldiers have for the first time seized a fully submersible drug-smuggling submarine capable of reaching the coast of Mexico, authorities have announced.

Heavily armed troops posed for photos with the submarine - complete with conning tower, steps up to a hatch, air-conditioning and a periscope.

Last July, another fully submersible 'narcosub' was seized just across the border by authorities in neighbouring Ecuador. But this new craft is one of the most advanced yet

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My Comment: Every year these subs are getting bigger and more sophisticated.

Africa's Growing Role As A Transit Hub For Drug Smugglers To Europe

Cocaine Worth $1bn Seized In The Gambia -- BBC

At least two tonnes of cocaine with a street value of some $1bn has been seized in The Gambia, bound for Europe.

In addition to the huge haul of drugs, the Gambian authorities have arrested a dozen suspected traffickers, and seized large quantities of cash and arms.

Gambian investigators made the first arrests then called in British agents to gather forensic evidence.

West Africa has become a major transit hub for trafficking Latin American drugs to markets in Europe.

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Update: Gambia makes big cocaine bust, arrests 12 - source -- Reuters

My Comment: I suspect that this is just a fraction of what is going through.

Al Qaeda's Involvement With Drug Cartels

Al-Qaeda: The World’s New Pushers -- MaCleans

Islamist extremists are assisting Colombian cocaine smugglers

In a partnership that U.S. authorities are referring to as an “unholy alliance,” Islamist extremists are helping Colombian guerrillas smuggle cocaine into Europe through unstable West Africa to increase their funding.

Marxist rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have started collaborating with al-Qaeda in the wake of interdiction efforts on the part of American and European forces aimed at curtailing the amount of cocaine travelling straight from Colombia and other Andean nations to the United States and Europe.

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More News On Al Qaeda's Links To Drug Smuggling

Drugs money fills al Qaeda coffers in West Africa -- Deutsche Welle
Air Al Qaeda: Are Latin America's drug cartels giving Al Qaeda a lift? -- Christian Science Monitor
DEA Uncovers Drug-Terror Nexus -- ISN
The Escalating Ties Between Middle Eastern Terrorist Groups and Criminal Activity -- US Department of State
Al Qaeda's Saharan Presence -- Asharq Al-Awsat
Al-Qaeda, drug traffic alliance threatens Sahel security -- Magharebia

Plying the Pacific, Subs Surface as Key Tool of Drug Cartels

Drug Sub (Photo from War Is Boring)

From The Washington Post:

MEXICO CITY -- When anti-narcotics agents first heard that drug cartels were building an armada of submarines to transport cocaine, they thought it was a joke.

Now U.S. law enforcement officials say that more than a third of the cocaine smuggled into the United States from Colombia travels in submersibles.

An experimental oddity just two years ago, these strange semi-submarines are the cutting edge of drug trafficking today. They ferry hundreds of tons of cocaine for powerful Mexican cartels that are taking over the Pacific Ocean route for most northbound shipments, according to the Colombian navy.

The sub-builders are even trying to develop a remote-controlled model, officials say.

"That means no crew. That means just cocaine, or whatever, inside the boat," said Michael Braun, a former chief of operations at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

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My Comment: Considering the money that some of these cartels are pulling in, I expect better subs. I guess with time they will have them.