Colombian cocaine smugglers scuttled a US-bound homemade submarine off the South American country's Pacific coast, Colombia's navy says. It is the second time in a month that Colombian forces, backed by the US Coast Guard, have stopped an underwater craft which was then sunk by its crew members to destroy their incriminating cargo.
In both cases, the smugglers quickly opened the hatches to sink the vessels before they could be boarded by authorities. Both submarines had the capacity to ship 10 to 12 tonnes of cocaine to the world's biggest market.
Colombia's navy has stopped 18 cocaine submarines since 2005. The multi-billion-dollar Colombian narcotics trade funds a guerrilla war in which thousands are killed and displaced every year. |