…local law enforcement officials engaged
Guyanese law enforcement authorities have been contacted by the Spanish Police about a submarine that was discovered carrying thousands of tonnes of cocaine located off the coast of Aldan, in Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain.
It is believed that this vessel was made in Guyana but that the massive quantity of cocaine was shipped out of Colombia, with Europe as its destination.
According to a senior law enforcement source, the Spanish authorities are still conducting investigations into the matter as they are working on re-floating the submarine to help determine how much cocaine is stored inside of it.
“They are not sure of the exact amount or weight of the cocaine there so they are estimating the weight based on averaging the weight of that submarine and the capacity it has. However, they have confirmed that it is cocaine inside of the vessel. They said when they are done with their preliminary report they will forward to us and let us know and then we have to do our part such as investigate etc,” the source said.
The source added that even if the submarine’s origin traces back to Guyana, it would have had to be a vessel that was made decades ago.
However, he emphasised that the cocaine, according to various reports, originated from Colombia and not Guyana.
According to a Spanish news agency, El Pais, their law enforcement officials have seized more than 6000 pounds of cocaine from what is believed to be the first-ever “narco-submarine” caught trying to enter European waters.
The 65-foot vessel, which in itself is estimated to cost €2.5 million to build, was tracked down on Sunday off the coast of Pontevedra, according to El Pais.
Investigators are now hoping to crane-lift the sub onto the dock at the Port of Aldán so that they can get inside more easily, an official from the Government’s office in the Province said Tuesday.
The Spanish authorities said that this was the first time a submarine had been found to be used in drug trafficking in that country – and that they had been monitoring the vessel’s movements in recent days in coordination with international Police.
The submarine is believed to have departed from Colombia, according to El Pais. Following its capture, two Ecuadoreans on board were taken into custody but a third person that escaped remains on the lam, the newspaper added.
The submarine sank as Police tried to intercept it Sunday, yet it wasn’t clear if the crew sank it on purpose.
Sources that spoke to El Pais said the vessel was carrying around 6600 pounds of cocaine and the criminal organisations affiliated with it must be “big, since just the submarine itself must have cost around €2.5 million (US$2.75 million)”.
The sources also said that they believed the submarine was built in Guyana and has been in operation “for years”.
Galician inlets have long been used by smugglers bringing cocaine by sea from South America into Europe.
An official, who spoke with other Spanish media, on condition of anonymity in keeping with Government rules, said a Police diver had managed to enter the submarine and extracted one package of cocaine.
The official said the submarine was some six metres underwater and that bad weather was complicating how Police might be able to bring it to the surface.
He said Spanish Police, in coordination with other countries’ forces, had been monitoring the submarine’s journey for some days.
