A Secret Shipyard Building Submarines for Drug Cartels Just Got Busted

Colombian authorities busted a drug trafficking organization that specialized in the construction of narco submarines used to traffic cocaine and other substances underwater.

The narco subs are a commonly used vehicle for moving drugs to Central America and Europe, as well as other South American countries like Brazil and Guyana.

Authorities said that 12 people were arrested for their involvement with the organization, including the two leaders who were only identified by their alias’—“Pulga” and “Iván.” They also identified a third detainee as “Bernardo”, who was in charge of the group’s finances and “the commercialization of cocaine with drug trafficking structures in Europe and Central America,” the government said.

The “clandestine shipyards” in which the subs were built were located along the coasts of the Cauca and Nariño departments. The group was based in the port city of Buenaventura, about 300 miles southwest of Bogota, where they coordinated the logistics of their operation. 

Authorities alleged that the group worked for different drug trafficking organizations, and was not exclusive to any specific cartel.

The use of homemade submarines to trafficking drugs from South America around the world has existed for decades, and remains a focus of authorities attempting to clamp down on international smuggling. Colombian law enforcement seized 31 narco subs in 2021, a jump from 23 in 2019, according to InSight Crime. In 2022, Colombian authorities captured Óscar Moreno Ricardo, who spent two decades building narco subs for various drug cartels around Latin America.

The submarines are generally packed full of drugs and manned by small crews who embark on weeks-long journeys underwater in an attempt to evade authorities. But the practice has also proved dangerous for traffickers.

A narco submarine was discovered off the coast of Colombia in mid-March with two tons of cocaine, and two dead bodies on board. Authorities also found two men alive on the sub who were reportedly ill from the effects of poisonous gases released by the boat’s fuel.