A 49-foot-long narco submarine carrying £72 million in cocaine and two dead bodies was discovered off the coast of Colombia.
The Colombian Navy apprehended the ‘ghost ship,’ which was carrying more than 2.6 tons of cocaine, in the Pacific Ocean. Authorities also discovered two survivors who received life-saving medical treatment on a nearby ship.
Local authorities believe the two victims died as a result of toxic gas inhalation.
According to Spanish media, the submarine was one of three seized by Colombian officials, with all three allegedly belonging to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
The FARC was a Marxist-Leninist guerrilla group that operated in Colombia from 1964 to 2017 and attempted to overthrow the government and establish a communist state.
To fund its decades-long insurgency, the group was involved in drug trafficking, extortion, kidnapping, and other criminal activities.
Each narco submarine is thought to be capable of transporting up to six tons of the Class A substance.
Colombian troops are also said to have discovered and destroyed a cocaine processing center in a rural area near the northern city of Santa Marta. Another two tons of cocaine are believed to have been seized here.
Colombia’s Ministry of National Defense said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: ‘During maritime control and security operations in the Colombian Pacific, the Colombian Military Forces intercepted a semi-submersible approximately 15 meters long, in which 2,643 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride were being transported, destined for distribution in Central America.’
When the illegal device was discovered, military personnel discovered two people in poor health on the ship’s deck. Apparently, an accident occurred inside the semi-submersible due to the release of toxic gases from the fuel.
‘The two men were treated and transported to a nearby vessel, where they received the medical attention they required to save their lives.
