MADRID: Spanish authorities intercepted another submarine suspected of transporting drugs to Europe from South America and arrested four Colombian nationals who were crewing the vessel, officials said Thursday.
Police rescued the occupants after they had scuttled the 20-meter (65-foot) long narco-submarine 518 kilometers (312 miles) west of Cadiz on Tuesday, when it was heading for the mainland.
Due to the characteristics of the boat and the crew’s behavior, authorities believed that it transported cocaine, the Civil Guard said in a statement on Wednesday.
The crew surfaced safely while the submarine flooded and sank with its cargo, the statement added.
The Civil Guard told the Associated Press that they would not try to retrieve the vessel which is believed to be at a depth of 1,000 meters (0.6 miles),
The submarine, which departed from Colombia, is similar to those intercepted by authorities in previous operations in northwestern Spain in 2019 — when three metric tons of cocaine were confiscated — — and last year.
Similar vessels have been discovered in the Atlantic Ocean, especially near Central and South America. They usually sail underwater at shallow depths and are rarely able to submerge.
The Colombian and Ecuadorian authorities have been working on the seizure of this sort of semi-submersible. The Colombian Navy said that in 2024 they have uncovered 13 such vessels laden with illicit drugs in the Pacific.
Spain arrests four Colombians rescued from submarine suspected of transporting drugs
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Spain arrests four Colombians rescued from submarine suspected of transporting drugs
- Police rescued the occupants after they had scuttled the 20-meter long narco-submarine 518 kilometers west of Cadiz
- The crew surfaced safely while the submarine flooded and sank with its cargo
Australia rejects report it is repatriating families of Daesh militants from Syrian camp
- The return of relatives of suspected Daesh militants is a political issue in Australia, which has seen a surge in popularity of the right-wing
Australia’s center-left government on Sunday rejected a local media report that said it was working to repatriate Australians in a Syrian camp holding families of suspected Daesh militants. The 34 women and children were released on Monday from the camp in northern Syria, but returned to the detention center due to technical reasons. The group is expected to travel to Damascus before eventually returning to Australia, despite objections from ruling and opposition lawmakers.
On Sunday, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke rejected claims made in a report in the Sunday Telegraph, asserting that official preparations were under way for the cohort’s return.
“In that report, it makes a claim that we are conducting a repatriation. We are not,” Burke told Australian Broadcasting Corp. television.
“It claims we have been meeting with the states for the purposes of a repatriation. We have not,” Burke added. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who leads Australia’s Labour Party, said this week his government would not help the group return to Australia.
The return of relatives of suspected Daesh militants is a political issue in Australia, which has seen a surge in popularity of the right-wing, anti-immigration One Nation party led by Pauline Hanson.
Daesh, the Sunni Muslim militant group, is listed as a terrorist organization in Australia, with membership of the group punishable by up to 25 years in prison. Australia also has the power to strip dual nationals of citizenship if they are a Daesh member.
