Portuguese police, military bust narco-submarine carrying 9 tons of cocaine

By Alyssa McMurtry​​​​​​​

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Portuguese authorities said Sunday they seized around nine tons of cocaine from a narco-submarine during a joint police and military operation.

“Around 265 bales of cocaine were ultimately recovered,” Artur Vaz, director of the National Unit for Combating Drug Trafficking, told a news conference. “If confirmed after the necessary weigh-ins, this will be the largest cocaine seizure ever carried out in national territory.”

The semi-submersible vessel had been carrying about 300 bales of cocaine, but roughly 35 sank along with the vessel due to adverse weather conditions and the vessel’s fragility, he added.

The narco-submarine had sailed from Latin America and was crewed by three Colombians and one Venezuelan, all of whom were arrested, police said.

The operation involved Portuguese police and around 60 personnel from the navy and air force, and was carried out “under extremely difficult and dangerous conditions due to adverse weather,” authorities said in a statement.

The seizure took place on Friday, about 230 nautical miles (426 kilometers) from the Azores islands in the Atlantic Ocean.

In 2019, Spanish authorities intercepted a semi-submersible vessel carrying around three tons of cocaine, marking the first known case of a narco-submarine crossing the Atlantic.

Such vessels have since become a common method for smuggling drugs into Europe.

This is the third narco-submarine seized by Portuguese authorities in the past 12 months, according to the Portuguese navy.