One of 16 semi-submersibles captured in the Pacific coast of Colombia in the first half of 2021. (Photo via Colombian Navy)
(Reuters) The Colombian navy said on Wednesday (September 1) it had seized 1.8 tonnes of cocaine being transported onboard a semi-submersible vessel in the south Pacific.
The operation prevented the trafficking and consumption of more than 44.5 million doses of cocaine in neighboring countries, valued at 60 million dollars and distributed by the FARC’s dissident group “Bloque Occidental Alfonso Cano,” the navy said.
The seizure, led by the marines, was carried out with intelligence from the Colombian navy.
“The semi-submersible type naval device was intercepted when subjects tried to remove it through an area of estuary located north of the department of Nariño and who, upon noticing the presence of the authorities, threw themselves into the water, fleeing through an area of estuaries, abandoning in that way a speedboat.”
People manning the low-profile boat jumped into the water as soon as they noticed the authorities and fled into a mangrove area, abandoning the semi-submersible loaded with the drugs as well as a speedboat that appeared to be escorting them, Admiral Orlando Cubillos Chacon said.
When the 17-meter-long naval vessel was inspected, 90 sacks were found containing several rectangular packages, which were then transferred to the dock of the Tumaco Coast Guard Station, where members of the Technical Investigation Corps of the Prosecutor’s Office carried out the approved preliminary identification test with a positive result for cocaine.
This last month, the Colombian Navy intercepted more than 200 million dollars worth in merchandise belonging to the FARC dissident group “Bloque Occidental Alfonso Cano,” with the seizure of more than 5.8 tons of narcotics, three semi-submersible naval devices and three speedboats, as well as the destruction of laboratories for the production of cocaine.
(Camilo Cohecha, Herbert Villarraga, Reuters)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021
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