A 49ft long narco-sub containing a staggering £72m worth of cocaine and two dead bodies has been discovered off the coast of Colombia.
The Colombian Navy captured the ‘ghost ship’ – which was carrying more than 2.6 tons of cocaine – in the Pacific Ocean.
Boarding the boat Sunday, authorities also found two survivors receiving emergency medical care on a nearby boat.
Local authorities trying to unravel the mystery believe the two who died were killed by inhaling toxic gases.
Video footage captured the moment Colombian authorities unloaded the boat, leaving behind a substantial amount of cocaine they had seized.
A 49ft long narco-sub (pictured) containing £72m worth of cocaine and two dead bodies has been discovered off the coast of Colombia.
The Colombian Navy seized the ‘ghost ship’, which had more than 2.6 tons of cocaine (in the photo), in the Pacific Ocean
Two people found on board received life-saving medical attention, but two others were found dead.
Spanish media report that the submarine was one of three seized by Colombian officials, all of whom allegedly belonged to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
The FARC was a Marxist-Lennist guerrilla group that operated in Colombia between 1964 and 2017 and attempted to overthrow the country’s government and establish a communist state.
The group was involved in drug trafficking, extortion, kidnapping and other criminal activities to finance its decades-long insurgency.
It is understood that each narco-sub could carry up to six tons of the Class A substance.
Reports also claim that Colombian troops discovered and destroyed a cocaine processing center in a rural area near the northern city of Santa Marta. It is believed that another two tons of cocaine were seized here.
The Colombian Ministry of National Defense said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: ‘The Colombian Military Forces, in the course of maritime control and security operations in the Colombian Pacific, intercepted a semi-submersible approximately 15 meters long, in the who were transporting 2,643 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride. were being transported, destined for distribution in Central America.
‘Once the illegal device was located, military personnel found two individuals in poor health outside the vessel. Apparently, there was an accident inside the semi-submersible due to the generation of toxic gases from the fuel.
The two men were treated and transported to a nearby boat, where they received the necessary medical attention to safeguard their lives.
Spanish media report that the submarine was one of three seized by Colombian officials, all of whom allegedly belonged to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
In the photo: The moment in which the Colombian police discovered and seized the narco-submarine in the Pacific
Pictured: Positive test for drugs found aboard the semi-submersible narco-submarine
‘During the inspection of the illegal device, which contained a large amount of water, two bodies with no signs of life were found and recovered. The Colombian Navy, after carrying out these procedures, recovered the alkaloid that it was transporting inside the semi-submersible.
Subsequently, the people rescued, the bodies, and the confiscated items were transferred to the municipality of Tumaco, department of Nariño, where they were presented to the Technical Investigation Corps of the Attorney General’s Office, who determined that the alkaloid was cocaine hydrochloride.
‘With this operational deployment, which had foreign support, more than 87 million dollars were prevented from entering the financial structures of drug trafficking organizations that operate in the Colombian Pacific, and the circulation of more than six million doses was prevented. in the international illegal market.
“The Colombian Navy will continue to deploy all its capabilities to counter the scourge of drug trafficking structures that operate in the Colombian Pacific.”
Semi-submersible narco-submarines are designed to be partially submerged in water to avoid detection by radar and other surveillance equipment.
They are often built in remote areas of the Colombian jungle and their design and construction involve a high degree of secrecy and sophistication.