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The cartel's new secret smuggling weapon in Britain: How underwater drone 'narco subs' laden with cocaine could be operating in UK
Gangs may already be using a new secret weapon to smuggle drugs into Britain in the form of 'narco subs' laden with cocaine, an expert said today.
South American cartels regularly smuggle drugs on container ships before jettisoning the packages overboard for UK-based associates to retrieve and transport to land.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) launched 60 investigations into such incidents last year, involving small fishing boats or rigid-hull inflatable boats (RHIBs).
While many were caught by Border Force cutters, officials fear criminals could innovate by deploying underwater drones - nicknamed 'narco subs' - instead.
And, according to one expert, they may already be in operation.
'I've not seen evidence of it yet, but it's plausible,' Peter Walsh, author of Drug War: The Secret History, told the Daily Mail.
'When gangs use boats to pick up drugs there's always the risk of those onboard being caught. Then you don't only lose your drugs - they could flip on you too.
'That means there would be a double advantage of using unmanned drones for this type of trafficking.'
South American cartels have long trafficked drugs using manned semi-submersibles, which float just underwater, or even fully fledged submarines.
The first submarine linked to drug smuggling in Europe was found off the coast of Spain in 2006.
In 2019, police intercepted a 65-foot vessel off the coast of Galicia and found three men onboard.
Astonishingly, it is believed to have sailed across the Atlantic from Colombia - a journey of 4,778 nautical miles.
Mr Walsh believes there is a possibility manned drug-smuggling submarines have been used off the coast of Britain too.
'I don't see why you couldn't see manned subs or semi-submersibles in the UK, although there are factors to do with shipping and sea conditions that could complicate it,' he said.
'For example, the Channel is a very busy shipping lane, so it may be easier to take the sea route to Spain and then bring the drugs to the UK overland.'
Last year, the NCA seized nearly five tonnes of cocaine criminals were bringing in using the 'at-sea drop-off' (ASDO) method. However, all these cases involved boats.
The agency has not seen narco subs used in the UK and does not consider it a 'significant threat'.
If narco subs did begin operating in domestic waters, it would demonstrate a concerning escalation in the technological capabilities of UK-based criminals.
In 2020, Spain's Policia National seized three underwater drones built to smuggle drugs from Morocco over the Strait of Gibraltar.
Fitted with GPS navigation systems, the drones could potentially be operated by traffickers from anywhere in the world over the Internet.
The unmanned submersibles were said to be capable of carrying up to 200kg (441lbs) of cargo.
Narco subs equipped to carry passengers are usually pieced together by the gangs themselves, meaning they can be flimsy and dangerous.
In 2024, one crew was rescued from their sinking sub after it was intercepted by Spanish customs officers and police in the Atlantic.
Video showed four Colombian men standing on top of the submersible after they deliberately sank it when they saw officers approaching them.
In a second clip, the men are seen struggling to stay afloat in the crashing waves by holding onto black barrels.
They were then taken onboard the customs vessel and handcuffed.
Narco subs deployed in the Americas are typically built deep in cartel-controlled territory.
So far, at least three manned subs have been caught near Spain, though authorities estimate that as many as 30 may have avoided detection.
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 are sent on to distributors.
One vessel caught by police was said to have been carrying 3,000kg of cocaine.
Narco subs have also been spotted in the Caribbean, and last year one was boarded by Royal Marine commandos during a maritime security patrol.
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 and seized two tonnes of cocaine worth £160m.
Two crewmembers were arrested.
The bust was the eighth carried out by Portsmouth-based HMS Trent, which intercepted £750m of cocaine over just seven months.
As well as hunting drug gangs. Trent also delivers humanitarian aid during the hurricane season.
