MADRID (AP) — Spanish authorities have intercepted another submarine suspected of transporting drugs from South America to Europe and arrested four Colombian crew members of the vessel, officials said Thursday.
Police rescued the occupants after sinking the 20-metre narco-submarine 518 kilometers west of Cadiz on Tuesday as it headed towards the mainland.
Authorities suspected the boat was carrying cocaine due to the boat’s characteristics and the crew’s behavior, the Guardia Civil said in a statement on Wednesday.
The crew surfaced safely, while the submarine filled with cargo and sank, the statement said.
The Guardia Civil told the Associated Press news agency that they would not attempt to recover the ship, which is believed to be at a depth of 1,000 meters (0.6 miles).
The submarine, which departed from Colombia, is similar to those intercepted by authorities in previous operations in northwestern Spain in 2019 – when three tons of cocaine were seized – and last year.
Similar vessels have been discovered in the Atlantic Ocean, particularly around Central and South America. They usually sail at shallow depths and can rarely submerge.
The Colombian and Ecuadorian authorities are in the process of seizing these types of semi-submersibles. The Colombian Navy said it discovered 13 such ships, loaded with illegal drugs, in the Pacific Ocean in 2024.
___
Associated Press journalist Astrid Suárez in Bogotá, Colombia, contributed to this report.
