High-tech Cocaine-loaded Mini-subsApril 10, 2009

 

Drug traffickers from Colombia are turning to high-tech semi-submersibles to smuggle cocaine into Mexico and the United States, according to an article in The Arizona Daily Star.

These submarines — made of fiberglass and wood, and crafted in the costal jungles of Colombia — now transport a third of all U.S.-bound cocaine by way of the Pacific, according to Joseph Nimmich, a Coast Guard rear admiral.

Submarines have been used for smuggling for some time, but these modern subs are bigger and more sophisticated. They began plying the waters over the past three years. While the older subs were often called "floating coffins," these new subs ride just below the surface and have V-shaped prows designed to leave minimal wakes. This makes them hard to detect visually or by radar outside a range of 10,000 feet.

Navy helicopters are used to spot these vessels, calling in the Coast Guard to board the crafts.