Incredible drug submarines from Colombia
A week ago, I introduced you to incredible drug tanks , but if you think that this was the top engineering genius of cartels, then I will disappoint you. Meet Narco-submarines straight from tropical Colombia! And if you think that these are floating buckets - you are mistaken. Cocaine, or the desire to sell it in the United States, works wonders.
Colombians began to use submarines to transport cocaine in the nineties, but the US Coast Guard for the first time managed to seize such a submarine only in 2006. Earlier, in 2000, the Colombian security forces were able to find one very interesting submarine under construction. Against the standard 3-10 tons of carrying capacity, the seized specimen could carry up to 200 tons of cocaine on board. At the time of detection, the boat was ready by 50%.
')
One of the captured submarines
Now underground shipyards are looking continuously.
The submarines standing on the “armament” of cartels can be divided into three types:
Depending on the complexity of the design and purpose, the submarines are divided into reusable and disposable. The latter are thrown on the shore, or flooded after delivery of the goods.
Construction of submarines occurs most often in the mouths of rivers, under the cover of the Colombian rainforests. But this is not the only reason why it is not easy to find them. Colombian drug traffickers are very cautious and the intelligence services of the United States, Colombia and Mexico, to which much of the cocaine is transported using these devices, fail to build a stable human intelligence network that would “drain” the relevant information in sufficient quantities.
According to some reports, the US Coast Guard and Mexico manage to catch only up to 20% of the submarines, the rest successfully reach their destination. So what's the problem?
The production of narco-submarines takes place in artisanal conditions, without annoying GOSTs and quality control. Therefore, light and affordable composite materials, plastic, fiberglass are used without a twinge of conscience. Such "engineering solutions" make the submarine, made on the basis of a wooden fishing boat, completely invisible to radar. Most of the units used by Colombians, can not go under the water entirely, but sticking out over the water cutting, painted in gray color, on the background of the horizon is almost impossible to notice.
Pay attention to the materials of the case.
The main enemy of the submarines are air patrols, but there is a solution for this. Many vehicles, under the condition of immobility, can dive to a depth of 9m, which makes them invisible under the water and air.
The construction of the device, 15m long and with a loading capacity of ~ 10 tons, costs about $ 1-2 million. The main cost is not materials, they are just cheap, and their delivery to the shipyard. Since cocaine production is often located near the construction site of the submarine, a lot of money has to be paid for the delivery of each nut, including for the silence of couriers (if they are killed, then there will be no people left in Colombia). The cost of building a submarine is lost for the potential profit from delivering cocaine, but logistic problems are evident, and the government promises substantial rewards for any information about the underground shipyards in the jungle.
Separately, it is necessary to allocate the narcotispeda, that is, towed uninhabited vehicles. Lifting capacity is usually not more than two tons, it is almost impossible to detect them, but there are a number of problems with the delivery of the torpedo to its destination.
Initially, the torpedo is towed by three vessels, each of which has its own role. The first boat is a scout heading ahead and reporting potential threats in the form of patrols. Behind him is a towing vessel pulling a torpedo 100-200m long on a cable, submerged under water to a depth of ten meters, that is, it is impossible to detect it from the air. The third is the ship "safety net". If a scout notices a coastal patrol, or any other threat, the torpedo is flooded to a depth of 60 meters, and the GPS beacon disguised as a log remains on the surface. Ships continue to move.
After the patrol passes by, the "safety ship" trawls the torpedo and changes roles with the second, continuing towing. When approaching the coast, a torpedo is most often unloaded onto a local ship of the “receiving party”, or goes further under its own power and is controlled remotely, and upon arrival at its destination it is met by specially trained people. After unloading the torpedo is flooded.
Narkotorpeda
With the development of technology and experience, narco-submarines become more perfect from year to year. One of the last captured models was strikingly like a factory submarine. It was equipped with a control room, a bathroom (it is not on ordinary drug pods, which makes the flight into hell) and even air conditioning. A couple of years ago, one of the Colombian drug submarines was detained off the coast of Spain with a cargo of cocaine on board. The geography of direct delivery routes is expanding, and cartels are looking for more and more new ways to transport drugs.
Colombians began to use submarines to transport cocaine in the nineties, but the US Coast Guard for the first time managed to seize such a submarine only in 2006. Earlier, in 2000, the Colombian security forces were able to find one very interesting submarine under construction. Against the standard 3-10 tons of carrying capacity, the seized specimen could carry up to 200 tons of cocaine on board. At the time of detection, the boat was ready by 50%.
')
One of the captured submarines
Now underground shipyards are looking continuously.
The submarines standing on the “armament” of cartels can be divided into three types:
- Submersible boats;
- Uninhabited underwater vehicles;
- Full submarines.
Depending on the complexity of the design and purpose, the submarines are divided into reusable and disposable. The latter are thrown on the shore, or flooded after delivery of the goods.
Construction of submarines occurs most often in the mouths of rivers, under the cover of the Colombian rainforests. But this is not the only reason why it is not easy to find them. Colombian drug traffickers are very cautious and the intelligence services of the United States, Colombia and Mexico, to which much of the cocaine is transported using these devices, fail to build a stable human intelligence network that would “drain” the relevant information in sufficient quantities.
According to some reports, the US Coast Guard and Mexico manage to catch only up to 20% of the submarines, the rest successfully reach their destination. So what's the problem?
The production of narco-submarines takes place in artisanal conditions, without annoying GOSTs and quality control. Therefore, light and affordable composite materials, plastic, fiberglass are used without a twinge of conscience. Such "engineering solutions" make the submarine, made on the basis of a wooden fishing boat, completely invisible to radar. Most of the units used by Colombians, can not go under the water entirely, but sticking out over the water cutting, painted in gray color, on the background of the horizon is almost impossible to notice.
Pay attention to the materials of the case.
The main enemy of the submarines are air patrols, but there is a solution for this. Many vehicles, under the condition of immobility, can dive to a depth of 9m, which makes them invisible under the water and air.
The construction of the device, 15m long and with a loading capacity of ~ 10 tons, costs about $ 1-2 million. The main cost is not materials, they are just cheap, and their delivery to the shipyard. Since cocaine production is often located near the construction site of the submarine, a lot of money has to be paid for the delivery of each nut, including for the silence of couriers (if they are killed, then there will be no people left in Colombia). The cost of building a submarine is lost for the potential profit from delivering cocaine, but logistic problems are evident, and the government promises substantial rewards for any information about the underground shipyards in the jungle.
Separately, it is necessary to allocate the narcotispeda, that is, towed uninhabited vehicles. Lifting capacity is usually not more than two tons, it is almost impossible to detect them, but there are a number of problems with the delivery of the torpedo to its destination.
Initially, the torpedo is towed by three vessels, each of which has its own role. The first boat is a scout heading ahead and reporting potential threats in the form of patrols. Behind him is a towing vessel pulling a torpedo 100-200m long on a cable, submerged under water to a depth of ten meters, that is, it is impossible to detect it from the air. The third is the ship "safety net". If a scout notices a coastal patrol, or any other threat, the torpedo is flooded to a depth of 60 meters, and the GPS beacon disguised as a log remains on the surface. Ships continue to move.
After the patrol passes by, the "safety ship" trawls the torpedo and changes roles with the second, continuing towing. When approaching the coast, a torpedo is most often unloaded onto a local ship of the “receiving party”, or goes further under its own power and is controlled remotely, and upon arrival at its destination it is met by specially trained people. After unloading the torpedo is flooded.
Narkotorpeda
With the development of technology and experience, narco-submarines become more perfect from year to year. One of the last captured models was strikingly like a factory submarine. It was equipped with a control room, a bathroom (it is not on ordinary drug pods, which makes the flight into hell) and even air conditioning. A couple of years ago, one of the Colombian drug submarines was detained off the coast of Spain with a cargo of cocaine on board. The geography of direct delivery routes is expanding, and cartels are looking for more and more new ways to transport drugs.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/376925/
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