Under the Radar: What Hundreds of Narco Sub Seizures Tell Us About Global Cocaine Routes

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A near-record number of narco submarines were intercepted crossing the Atlantic and Pacific in 2024, with drug-laden vessels appearing in new areas as traffickers increasingly use this discreet shipping method to get cocaine to international markets. Narco subs have been around for decades, primarily used to ferry cocaine from Colombia’s Pacific coast to Central America or Mexico. But recent seizure data for these hard-to-detect boats suggest that narco subs are growing in number, reach, and sophistication.

In the past year, maritime authorities nabbed a vessel carrying some 6.5 tons of cocaine near the Azores Islands in the Atlantic, discovered a deserted narco sub near Black Johnson Beach in Sierra Leone, and intercepted another in the Pacific Ocean bound for Australia, carrying more than 5 tons of cocaine.
These transoceanic journeys show that the narco sub modus operandi is now being rolled out worldwide. InSight Crime reviewed hundreds of cases of semi-submersible vessels intercepted by authorities across the world to determine what the rising use of narco submarines tells us about drug trafficking routes and criminal dynamics.


More: https://insightcrime.org/news/under...seizures-tell-us-about-global-cocaine-routes/