logo
Inside the hunt for deathtrap narco-subs that smuggle £120m of cocaine each and flood Britain with cocaine

Inside the hunt for deathtrap narco-subs that smuggle £120m of cocaine each and flood Britain with cocaine

Daily Mail​09-05-2025

The sleek submarines, each painted cobalt blue to match the ocean, cut through choppy waters at remarkable rates.
Zipping from south America to Europe, each one is designed to carry the maximum amount of weight possible, and as a result can carry a maximum of three people who are trapped inside for weeks at a time with one job in mind.
Cartels are now on the offensive in the war against drugs, and have been spending heavily on their research and development to come up with their latest innovation - narco subs.
Authorities estimate that each vessel costs around $1million (£750,000) to make.
They aren't armed, instead relying on camouflage to evade detection from investigating authorities whose resources are already stretched thin.
The submarines are made deep in the jungles of south America, where cartels rule and are accountable to no one thanks to dense thickets hiding their activities.
'Narco submarines are being built in rivers and mangroves. That's why, for example, the Amazon river in Brazil, is perfect. As soon as you open Google Maps, you realise it's a labyrinth of islets and mangroves and tributaries', Javier Romero, a local journalist, told the Wall Street Journal.
'You can hide a shipyard, then you can build it, put it into the water, and with the cover of darkness you launch it into the night.'
The first was spotted in European waters in 2019, and revealed how far ahead trafficking gangs were in the cat-and-mouse game that the war on drugs has become.
One that was recently caught by Spanish authorities was believed to have travelled over 4,000 miles from Brazil to Europe over the course of 27 days, highlighting the sophistication of these machines.
Romero said: 'It was evidence that there is no control over the issue. The bad buys are way, way, way ahead of the good guys.'
So far, at least three narco-subs have been caught near Spain, though authorities estimate that as many as 30 may have avoided detections.
Galicia, Spain, has long been considered to be the perfect hub of trafficking.
Its rocky coastline means there are countless nooks and crannies for drugs to be pushed onto land, before they're send to distributors.
And for decades, the region has had significant cultural ties with Latin American cartels, meaning the human infrastructure need
Though these vessels are a new phenomenon in Europe, they have reportedly been used for decades in South America.
One vessel caught by drug cops was said to have been carrying 3,000kg of cocaine.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), this submarine was carrying nearly £249,000 worth of cocaine into Europe.
As a result, port authorities across Europe are being overwhelmed by cartels. The continent takes in 90million shipping containers each year, and authorities are only able to search between two and 10 percent of containers that sit in their ports.
Last year, Royal Navy commandos stormed their first 'narco sub', seizing two-tonnes of cocaine.
Royal Marines based on patrol ship HMS Trent made the historic bust during a patrol in the Caribbean.
The secret underwater submarine is used by drug cartels to ferry huge quantities for narcotics around the world.
Powered by twin electric engines, the stealthy boats can glide undetected under the waves, carrying up to six-tonnes of drugs.
A boarding team made up of Royal Marines from 47 Commando, specialist sailors and US Coast Guard personnel, clambered aboard the vessel in waters 190 nautical miles south of the Dominican Republic.
The crack team of operators seized 2,000kg of cocaine, striking yet another huge blow to the Caribbean drugs trade. It is one of the largest seizures by British personnel of recent years.
The bust is the eighth carried out by Portsmouth-based HMS Trent, which has stropped £750m of drug reaching Britain in just seven months.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Renovation star-turned-prostitute Suzi Taylor emerges for the first time since she was granted bail while facing drug-trafficking charges
Renovation star-turned-prostitute Suzi Taylor emerges for the first time since she was granted bail while facing drug-trafficking charges

Daily Mail​

time3 hours ago

  • Daily Mail​

Renovation star-turned-prostitute Suzi Taylor emerges for the first time since she was granted bail while facing drug-trafficking charges

The Block contestant-turned-prostitute Suzi Taylor has made a surprise return to social media after she was granted bail while facing drug-trafficking charges. The 53-year-old took to Instagram to share a photo of herself posing for a selfie with her 'best friend' and 'saviour' that has helped her through her darkest times. 'I have had my best friend walk beside me thru every storm never leaving my side,' she captioned the post alongside her pet dog. 'My brave little companion has shown more courage loyalty & love than I could ever imagine.' Suzi looked happy and relaxed following a beachside stroll, posing alongside her beloved dog on the sand. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Suzi recently faced a Brisbane court over a bizarre 'honey trap' kidnapping, the details of which had the whole television industry aghast. The former reality star and her co-accused Ali Ebrahimi were eventually cleared on all charges, including extortion, deprivation of liberty, fraud and assault, and we do not suggest either of them committed a crime. But the accusations were alarming, to say the least, drawing attention to the fact Suzi, just five years after her sudden rise to fame, was clearly a troubled woman earning a living as a prostitute. That was 2020. Now it's 2025 and she continues to face legal troubles. In March, she pleaded guilty to charges of trespassing, stealing and common assault but escaped jail and only had to pay a fine. She had forced entry into a home the previous October demanding property from someone who was no longer living there. She pushed a woman then fled on an e-scooter with a shopping bag full of stolen goods. At the time, Suzi had just been released from prison where she'd served 50 days for evading police. The 53-year-old took to Instagram to share a photo of herself posing for a selfie with her 'best friend' and 'saviour' that has helped her through her darkest times She is currently on bail facing drug-trafficking charges and only recently had another conviction for meth possession added to her rap sheet. The last time Suzi had lucidly opened up about her personal life was in her final social media post for 2024 in which she revealed she was estranged from her three children, aged in their teens and twenties. She said her downfall had forced her to redefine what family is, and expressed hope for a more positive 2025. Fate had different plans for her. Taking to Instagram at the time, the former Block star revealed she is still estranged from her three children Bella, 20, Zac, 18, and Alex, 16, following 'years' of legal woes. Posting a selfie to her followers, Taylor shared the past few years, which have seen her mired in legal woes, had taught her a 'heartbreaking lesson'. 'The past few years have been filled with heartbreak. Losing loved ones, the absence of my children in my life,' she began the expansive post. She claimed family members had cut ties with her due to exaggerated media reports without 'ever seeking to understand the truth'. 'This experience has been a heartbreaking lesson in the meaning of family and unconditional love,' she wrote. The candid post continued with Taylor admitting the situation had forced her to redefine what family is. 'Even in the midst of such profound loss and isolation, I have found resilience. I have learned that family isn't always defined by blood; it can be the unexpected souls who step in during our darkest moments,' Taylor said. Finishing the expansive post, Taylor said she was hopeful for a more positive 2025. 'As we enter 2025, I carry with me the lessons of the past and the hope for brighter days ahead,' she said. 'Here's to healing, new connections, and redefining what family means. May this year bring us all the strength to embrace the love that truly matters. #newbeginnings'

Six members of ­Russian spy ring to have ‘too lenient' jail sentences reviewed
Six members of ­Russian spy ring to have ‘too lenient' jail sentences reviewed

The Sun

time5 hours ago

  • The Sun

Six members of ­Russian spy ring to have ‘too lenient' jail sentences reviewed

SIX members of a ­Russian spy ring are to have their jail sentences reviewed for being too lenient, we can reveal. The Bulgarians — who lived and worked in ­the UK — plotted sex stings, and targeted Russian ­dissidents and journalists critical of President Vladimir Putin 's war effort against Ukraine. 7 7 The ring included lab worker Katrin Ivanova, 33, and beauty shop owner Vanya Gaberova, 30 — dubbed 'killer sexy brunettes' by cell leaders. Ivanova got nine years and eight months and Gaberova eight years. They were both found guilty in March of breaching the Official Secrets Act by conspiring to provide information useful to an enemy between August 2020 and February 2023. Ivanova also got a concurrent sentence of 15 months for forged ID documents. All six got a total of more than 50 years last month. The Attorney General's Office has been asked to consider the sentences under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme. The ULS scheme allows anyone to ask for a Crown Court sentence to be assessed by the Attorney General's office if they think it is too lenient. Law officers have 28 days from sentencing to make a decision. 7 7 7 7 7

Filipino families flee Northern Irish home after night of anti-immigrant violence
Filipino families flee Northern Irish home after night of anti-immigrant violence

Reuters

time6 hours ago

  • Reuters

Filipino families flee Northern Irish home after night of anti-immigrant violence

BALLYMENA, Northern Ireland, June 11 (Reuters) - Michael Sancio, a resident of the Northern Irish town of Ballymena, said he was woken at midnight on Tuesday by masked men banging loudly on windows. Sancio, his wife and daughter, and a couple who share their house - all originally from the Philippines - grabbed their passports and a few belongings and fled their home, sleeping at a friend's house on Tuesday night. They said they plan to stay further outside the town on Wednesday because they feel unsafe at home. Hundreds of masked rioters attacked police and set homes and cars on fire in the town of 30,000 people for a second successive night on Tuesday. Police are investigating the damaging of property as racially-motivated "hate crimes". "Last night I woke up at 12 midnight because I heard some people outside, and I saw in the window, I saw the other guys wearing a black jacket and black pants, and also they're wearing a mask," Sancio, 27, told Reuters on Wednesday. "They started banging the window of our neighbours so I panicked because I have a daughter inside that house." The rioters smashed the windows of the couple's car that was parked outside the house and set it and a bin on fire, said Sancio, who works at a local bus manufacturer. The violence erupted after two 14-year-old boys were arrested and appeared in court, accused of a serious sexual assault on a teenage girl in Ballymena, a town with a relatively large migrant population located 28 miles (45 km) from Belfast. The charges were read via a Romanian interpreter to the boys, the BBC reported, adding that the lawyer told the court that they denied the charges. Anti-migrant violence is rare in Northern Ireland, which for decades has been more familiar with sectarian violence between resident Catholics and Protestants, including in Ballymena. While a 1998 peace deal largely ended the three decades of bloodshed between Protestants who want to remain under British rule and Catholics favouring a united Ireland, there are still sporadic clashes. Sancio said the masked men told them that they were not targeting Filipino people. Around Ballymena, Filipino residents put stickers of British and Filipino flags on their doors, with messages saying "Filipino lives here" to show they were not Romanian. Union Jack flags regularly fly in the largely pro-British town. Democratic Unionist Party councillor Lawrie Philpott told Reuters that some people who usually don't fly flags had hung Union Jacks outside their homes this week to show they are local. Around 6% of people in Northern Ireland were born abroad, according to government statistics. The foreign-born population in Ballymena is higher, in line with the UK average of 16%, and includes a relatively large Filipino community. Northern Ireland has been broadly welcoming to migrants but that has been tested recently. Violent disorder erupted in Belfast last August as part of anti-immigration protests that swept across several UK cities following the murder of three young girls in northwest England. In the Republic of Ireland, rioting broke out in Dublin in late 2023 during anti-immigrant protests that were triggered by a stabbing attack that left a child seriously injured. Sian Mulholland, a local lawmaker from the Alliance Party, said she was fielding calls from migrant families who in some cases had barricaded themselves into their homes until 0230 on Wednesday morning. "I had been engaging with this community beforehand because the houses they are living in are not fit for purpose. They're (living in) squalor," she told Reuters. Sancio's wife, Mariel Lei Odi, was working a night shift on Tuesday. When she returned home, she was worried about the safety of their two-year-old daughter, she said. "When I (came home to) my husband and chatted about what happened last night: (I said) 'my daughter, my daughter, my daughter. What happened?'," she said. Michael Asuro, who lives in the house with his wife, Jessa Sagarit, said he came to Northern Ireland just under two years ago to seek a better life. Sagarit said she felt traumatised by the events. Police have said they are braced for more violence on Wednesday. As residents boarded up broken windows and doors in Ballymena, the Filipino families wondered about their future and whether they will stay. "We feel extreme fear," Asuro said.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store