Intercepted for the first time in full ocean a narcosubmarino with all its cargo of cocaine | Spain
In full ocean and with its cargo of intact cocaine. A joint operation of the Civil Guard and the Portuguese Judicial Police has allowed to intercept a drugmarine cargo with 6.6 tons of drugs to 500 nautical miles to the south of the Azores Islands already 680 of the southwest of the Canary Islands, as the authorities of both countries have reported on Tuesday. It is the first time that one of these semi -submersibles –known in police jargon as « low profile vessels » (LPV) Since they never completely immerse themselves because a part of it is always on the surface – it is successfully approached so far from the coast without giving time to its crew sinking it before it falls into the hands of the police. Until now, ships of this type recovered by drug security forces inside had always been close to the coast, sources close to the investigation stand out.
The investigations suggest that the Narcosubmarino Now intercepted had left a point close to the mouth of the Amazon on the coast of Brazil and that was navigated with cocaine towards the peninsular Atlantic coast, presumably in the vicinity of the town of Sines, 58 maritime miles to the south of Lisbon. Once close to the coast, the investigations suggest that the crew were going to transfer the stash to high -speed narcolanches so that these were the ones that land the cargo on the ground. Subsequently, this would be distributed by Europe through Andalusia. There are five detainees: a Spanish, a Colombian and three Brazilians.
The baptized as Operation Nautilus started thanks to the intelligence work carried out by the recently created Central Anti -Drug Group of the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard and the Regional Center for Analysis and Intelligence against drug trafficking (CRAIN) also of the Armed Institute. The first collects all types of data on criminal organizations that use any type of boat for the introduction of cocaine in Spain, while the second, based in Andalusia, analyzes information on criminal organizations linked to drug trafficking that operate in southern Spain. The information collected by the Civil Guard in collaboration of the National British Crime Agency (NCA) and the US Anti -Drug Agency (Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA) was transferred to the Judicial Police of Portugal before the conviction that the final destination of the narcosubmarino was the coasts of this country.
The Lisbon authorities then launched an operation with the participation of the Navy and the Portuguese Air Force that finally allowed to intercept last Monday the boat in the Atlantic Ocean. Both the Narcosubmarino With the drug as the five detainees have arrived escorted this Tuesday to the island of San Miguel, in the archipelago of the Azores.
Narcosubmarinos have become an increasingly used means of transport for the transfer of great drugs from South America to Europe « for their great load capacity, autonomy to navigate great distances and ease to hide in the sea, » says the Civil Guard in a note. Since 1993, more than 300 vessels of this type have been arrested on the Atlantic. In addition, crew can ease them by letting the water in if they are surprised by the police, which makes it difficult and, even makes the recovery of the drug impossible as proof of the crime commission.
Last June, the four crew of one of these semi -submersibles caused the shipwreck of one of these semi -correspond when it is about to be approached For the ship Furmalof the Customs Surveillance Service to 280 nautical miles of Cádiz and 150 of the Cabo de San Vicente. Agents could only rescue the occupants. The narcosubmarino and its load were lost and, given the depth of the sea zone in which it sank, it was ruled out trying to recover them.
