Colombian police find drugs sub

**Julie** · 03-25-2005, 22:34 PM

Police in Colombia have uncovered a submarine, which they believe was built by drug smugglers to transport cocaine.

The nearly complete eight-metre fibreglass vessel, capable of carrying 10 tonnes of the drug, worth $200m, was found in the Pacific port of Tumaco.

Police had been monitoring its construction for six months.

They believe the Norte del Valle cartel, the last surviving Colombian drug trafficking organisation, planned to use it to smuggle drugs to the US.

Colombia's Department of Administrative Security says the submarine would have been used to evade radar and naval patrol ships, taking drugs out to sea where they could be transferred to high-speed motorboats for the journey to Central America and on to the United States.

"The ingenuity of drug traffickers is amazing. They will seek any way to avoid the coast guard," Eduardo Fernandez, head of Colombia's secret police in Valle del Cauca state, told the Associated Press.

The submarine was apparently designed to be ready for Easter, when the smugglers believed police would be less vigilant.

"On the contrary, security in the area has been boosted," said Mr Fernandez.

No arrests were made in Friday's operation.

In 2000, police found a 30-metre steel submarine under construction far inland, near the capital Bogota It would have been capable of carrying up to 200 tonnes of cocaine.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4383707.stm

Confed999 · 03-25-2005, 23:13 PM

That's wild...

Veni Vidi Vici · 03-25-2005, 23:32 PM

Oh boy... more drugs

Confed999 · 03-25-2005, 23:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Veni Vidi Vici

Oh boy... more drugs

They caught 'em before completion.

Veni Vidi Vici · 03-25-2005, 23:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Confed999

They caught 'em before completion.

They caught one.... there's more, I promise.

**Julie** · 03-25-2005, 23:55 PM

How is it that the sub was built to evade radar and naval patrol ships? Don't you have to have special technology for that?

**Officer of Engineers** · 03-26-2005, 00:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Julie

How is it that the sub was built to evade radar and naval patrol ships? Don't you have to have special technology for that?

It's called water. Coast guards ain't setup for ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare).

Ray · 03-26-2005, 00:41 AM

Wonders will never cease!

dalem · 03-26-2005, 01:17 AM

Didn't they find one of these 2 years ago, same circumstances?

I swear I read that somewhere.

-dale

Confed999 · 03-26-2005, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dalem

Didn't they find one of these 2 years ago, same circumstances?

I swear I read that somewhere.

-dale

"In 2000, police found a 30-metre steel submarine under construction far inland, near the capital Bogota It would have been capable of carrying up to 200 tonnes of cocaine."

bonehead · 03-26-2005, 22:45 PM

Which is the greatest threat to our national security, a handfull of terrorist with box knifes or a drug runner with 200 tons of cocaine? We really need to take off the gloves and tell the columbians "enough is enough". What they caught is only a drop in the bucket.

**Julie** · 03-26-2005, 23:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Officer of Engineers

It's called water. Coast guards ain't setup for ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare).

Excuse me, but I think you're missing my point. When we go deep sea fishing, we have GPS equipment that can pick up ship wrecks 100-150 feet below, and what we have is not even state of the art equipment. And you're telling me the Coast Guard has no type of equipment to pick up something as big as a sub??? Okay, now I'm freakin'.

**Officer of Engineers** · 03-26-2005, 23:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Julie

And you're telling me the Coast Guard has no type of equipment to pick up something as big as a sub??? Okay, now I'm freakin'.

I'm telling you that catching a sub isn't as easy as hooking up a sonar to a boat. How do you catch a big fish? There are two ways - get him to bite or cast a wide net. Since the bad guys ain't going to bite, you would have to cast a wide net and by that, I mean a sonar net and that means a multiple sonar assets (aircrafts, ships, and barrier sensors) that can communicate with one single command centre in managing all those data streams (helo1 says its a whale but better send ship2 over to check it out).

The Coast Guard ain't set up for ASW. The Navy is.

**Julie** · 03-26-2005, 23:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Officer of Engineers

I'm telling you that catching a sub isn't as easy as hooking up a sonar to a boat. How do you catch a big fish? There are two ways - get him to bite or cast a wide net. Since the bad guys ain't going to bite, you would have to cast a wide net and by that, I mean a sonar net and that means a multiple sonar assets (aircrafts, ships, and barrier sensors) that can communicate with one single command centre in managing all those data streams (helo1 says its a whale but better send ship2 over to check it out).

The Coast Guard ain't set up for ASW. The Navy is.

I never said for the Coast Guard to "catch it,"......simply detecting it, then calling in the Navy to confirm it, track it, and catch it. Or something to that procedural effect. Nothing good comes from the drug industry, and if drug traffickers can get away with something of that magnitude, terrorists can do so just as easily.

**Officer of Engineers** · 03-26-2005, 23:52 PM

Not a good idea. Once a sub is detected, it has to be prosecuted, otherwise, it slips away.

03-25-2005, 22:34 PM	#1 (permalink)
Julie Moderator Join Date: 08-04-03 Location: Georgia, USA Posts: 6,667 Country:	Colombian police find drugs sub Police in Colombia have uncovered a submarine, which they believe was built by drug smugglers to transport cocaine. The nearly complete eight-metre fibreglass vessel, capable of carrying 10 tonnes of the drug, worth $200m, was found in the Pacific port of Tumaco. Police had been monitoring its construction for six months. They believe the Norte del Valle cartel, the last surviving Colombian drug trafficking organisation, planned to use it to smuggle drugs to the US. Colombia's Department of Administrative Security says the submarine would have been used to evade radar and naval patrol ships, taking drugs out to sea where they could be transferred to high-speed motorboats for the journey to Central America and on to the United States. "The ingenuity of drug traffickers is amazing. They will seek any way to avoid the coast guard," Eduardo Fernandez, head of Colombia's secret police in Valle del Cauca state, told the Associated Press. The submarine was apparently designed to be ready for Easter, when the smugglers believed police would be less vigilant. "On the contrary, security in the area has been boosted," said Mr Fernandez. No arrests were made in Friday's operation. In 2000, police found a 30-metre steel submarine under construction far inland, near the capital Bogota It would have been capable of carrying up to 200 tonnes of cocaine. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4383707.stm

03-25-2005, 23:13 PM	#2 (permalink)
Confed999 Staff Emeritus Join Date: 09-10-03 Location: Florida Posts: 10,681 Country:	That's wild... __________________ No man is free until all men are free - John Hossack I agree completely with this Administration’s goal of a regime change in Iraq-John Kerry even if that enforcement is mostly at the hands of the United States, a right we retain even if the Security Council fails to act-John Kerry He may even miscalculate and slide these weapons off to terrorist groups to invite them to be a surrogate to use them against the United States. It’s the miscalculation that poses the greatest threat-John Kerry

03-25-2005, 23:32 PM	#3 (permalink)
Veni Vidi Vici *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 11-28-04 Location: The Great Southern USA, Georgia Posts: 976	Oh boy... more drugs __________________ "Our citizenship in the United States is our national character. Our citizenship in any particular state is only our local distinction. By the latter we are known at home, by the former to the world. Our great title is AMERICANS…" -- Thomas Paine

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03-25-2005, 23:55 PM	#6 (permalink)
Julie Moderator Join Date: 08-04-03 Location: Georgia, USA Posts: 6,667 Country:	How is it that the sub was built to evade radar and naval patrol ships? Don't you have to have special technology for that?

03-26-2005, 00:41 AM	#8 (permalink)
Ray Postmaster General *Military Professional* Join Date: 08-20-03 Posts: 27,304 Country:	Wonders will never cease!

03-26-2005, 01:17 AM	#9 (permalink)
dalem Lord High Hullabalooster *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 11-23-04 Location: Columbia Heights, MN Posts: 8,566 Country:	Didn't they find one of these 2 years ago, same circumstances? I swear I read that somewhere. -dale

03-26-2005, 22:45 PM	#11 (permalink)
bonehead *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 01-12-05 Posts: 1,913	Which is the greatest threat to our national security, a handfull of terrorist with box knifes or a drug runner with 200 tons of cocaine? We really need to take off the gloves and tell the columbians "enough is enough". What they caught is only a drop in the bucket.

03-26-2005, 23:52 PM	#15 (permalink)
Officer of Engineers *Military Professional* Moderator Scotch taster Join Date: 08-06-03 Posts: 16,673 Country:	Not a good idea. Once a sub is detected, it has to be prosecuted, otherwise, it slips away.

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