Spain arrests four Colombians who were on a sunken submarine off Cadiz

Spanish authorities intercepted a submarine possibly dedicated to transporting drugs between South America and Europe and arrested four Colombian citizens who were on board the vessel.

The occupants were rescued after sinking the 20-meter-long submarine 518 kilometers west of Cádiz when it was heading to the mainland.

Given the characteristics of the boat and the behaviour of the crew, authorities believe it was carrying cocaine, the Civil Guard said in a statement.

As a Customs Surveillance vessel approached, the crew sank the submarine with its cargo and surfaced to safety, where they were rescued, the statement added.

The Civil Guard told The Associated Press that there are no plans to recover the vessel, which is believed to be at a depth of about 1,000 metres.

The semi-submersible, which had set sail from Colombia, is similar to those intercepted by Spanish authorities in previous operations in two estuaries in Galicia, in the northwest of the country, in 2019 – with three tons of drugs on board – and last year.

Similar vessels have been discovered in the Atlantic Ocean, especially near Central America and South America. The boats sail underwater at shallow depths and are rarely able to fully submerge.

The authorities of Colombia and Ecuador have been working on the detection of this type of semi-submersibles. According to the Colombian Navy, so far in 2024, 13 of these submarines loaded with illegal drugs have been seized in the Colombian Pacific.

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