The police recently confiscated nearly 6.5 tonnes of cocaine in a semi-submersible ship, or supposedly “Narco Sub”, intercepted the Azores while it was linked to the Iberian Peninsula, said the Portugal Judicial Police.
The bust, nicknamed Operation Nautilus, amounts to almost a quarter of the 23 -ton record in the entire 2024 in Portugal, often considered one of the first entry points for the drug in Europe. Drug traffickers were captured using Semi-submersible ships To get cocaine smuggling while trying to escape detection.
The ship was intercepted “in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, around 500 nabin miles” in the south of the Portugal Azore archipelago, the Declaration of the judicial police said.
Portugal judicial police
Five crew members were on board the ship, which was used by an international crime ring, added the press release. Police published a video From the operation, showing the ship loaded with orange packages as well as four suspects with their faces escaped.
In addition to the Portuguese navy and the Air Force, international partners, including the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the British National Crime Agency and the Spanish Guardia Civil contributed to the bust, according to the police.
Portuguese police said the operation had taken place recently, without specifying the date.
Portugal judicial police
Many “Narco submarines” cannot dive completely like a real submarine, but some are able to dive completely underwater.
Most of the cocaine has been introduced as a smuggling in Portugal which crosses the Latin American Sea.
Although most often seen off the coasts of Colombia, “Narco submarines” have been identified around the world in recent months.
In January, a “Narco Sub” Scrambled in two rooms while a fishing boat went up it in a port in northwestern Spain. In November, the The Mexican navy said He seized about 8,000 pounds of cocaine aboard a “Narco Sub” about 150 miles from Acapulco resort. In September, the American Coast Guard said that it had unloaded more than $ 54 million in cocaine – including more than 1,200 pounds of drugs seized in a “Narco submarine”.
