[ad_1]
A homemade submarine capable of smuggling up to 2,000 kg of drugs has been seized by the police in Spain.
Investigators discovered the 9 m (30 ft) narco ship while it was being built in Malaga, on the Costa del Sol, during an international drug operation.
The light blue semi-submersible boat, which is 3 m (10 ft) wide, is made of fiberglass and plywood panels and has three portholes on one side.
It has two 200 hp engines operated from the inside.
Rafael Pérez, the chief of the Spanish police, said the ship had never put to sea.
He said: “We think it has a capacity of about two metric tons, but since it has never sailed, we cannot test it.”
“What we thought (is) he was going to go out to sea, meet a mothership, get on board the hideout … mostly cocaine, we think.
“And then, of course, go back to the port to transport the cargo.”
Comparing it to an iceberg, he added: “In practice, almost everything goes underwater, except for the top, which is the only part that would be seen from another boat or helicopter or from another location.
He continued: “What we think is happening is that the criminal organization through the smuggling of hashish and marijuana can finance larger operations, such as cocaine.
“What we thought is that this semi-submersible was going to be filled mainly with cocaine because they use a transportation infrastructure to move the hashish mainly in trucks.”
Similar drug smuggling ships have been discovered in the past in the Atlantic Ocean, especially off Central and South America.
They sit low in the water to escape detection and are rarely able to fully submerge.
The largest police operation targeting an international smuggling ring seized large quantities of cocaine, hashish and marijuana at various locations in Spainand led to the arrest of 52 people.
Police from Colombia, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Portugal were also involved in the operation.
[ad_2]