Authorities in dozens of countries seized 225 tons of cocaine during a six-week mega-operation in which they uncovered a new trafficking route across the Pacific, from South America to Australia, the Colombian Navy announced on Wednesday. Authorities said they also seized “increasingly sophisticated” drug-laden semi-submersibles – better known as “narco submarines” – which can go 10,000 miles without refueling.
The last phase of world naval operation “Orion” resulted in the seizure of more than 1,400 tons of drugs, including 225 tons of cocaine and 128 tons of marijuana, Navy official Orlando Enrique Grisales told reporters.
More than 400 people were arrested in the operation targeting oceans, coasts, rivers and ports around the world in October and November.
This massive operation involved the security agencies of the United States, Brazil, Spain, the Netherlands and several other countries, as well as several international organizations.
The seizure deprived the drug cartels of more than $8.4 billion, according to a Navy statement.
Grisales said authorities also seized a semi-submersible wood and fiberglass vessel en route to Australia with five tons of Colombian cocaine.
It is the third vessel of its type discovered in the area, revealing a “new route” of trafficking with sophisticated boats capable of traveling a distance of some 10,000 miles without needing to refuel.
A kilo of cocaine sells for up to $240,000 in Australia, Grisales said, about six times the price in the United States.
“It’s a route that is becoming more and more profitable because prices are much higher in Australia,” a security source explained to AFP.
“Initially, these boats were mainly used to take drugs out of the country and transport them off the coast of Colombia and then transfer them to ships,” the source added.
“It has been noted that these semi-submersibles, sometimes even submersibles, are now increasingly sophisticated and have very fine engineering.”
Semi-submersibles, which cannot submerge completely underwater, are popular among international drug traffickers because they can sometimes evade detection by law enforcement. The ships are sometimes seized in Colombian waters towards the United States, Central America and Europe. In June, the Colombian Navy said it seized two “narco subs” off the country’s Pacific coast, which together contained nearly 5 tons of cocaine.
Colombian Navy
In February, Colombian authorities on a search and rescue mission to find two missing fishermen find a “narco sub” loaded with more than 4 tons of cocaine. A few weeks earlier, the Colombian navy intercepted a semi-submersible loaded with more than 1,000 pounds of cocaine in the Pacific Ocean.
The latest “Operation Orion” also revealed previously unknown alliances between cartels from Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru with groups from Europe and Oceania.
“This is not just a pyramid structure like the cartels used to be. Today, it’s organized crime networks coming together,” Grisales said.
Colombia is the world’s largest producer and exporter of cocaine, mainly to the United States and Europe.
Last year, the South American country set a new record for cocaine production and cultivation of the coca leaf from which it is made.