Cocaine smugglers turn to submarines

The capture of two cocaine-laden semi-submarines in the past week has highlighted the increasing use of the vessels, which now transport one-third of illicit drugs in the eastern Pacific, a major route between Colombia and the United States, U.S. authorities said Friday.

This 60-foot semi-submersible vessel sank after U.S. authorities boarded it September 17.

The first seizure occurred September 12, when a Coast Guard team, under cover of darkness, boarded a 59-foot semi-submersible 370 nautical miles southwest of Guatemala.

The startled Colombian smugglers reversed the vessel in an effort to throw the boarding party overboard, but the Coast Guard was able to seize the craft, its four-person crew and its 237 bales of cocaine.

Just five days later, on Wednesday morning, a 60-foot semi-submersible was seized about 200 nautical miles south of Guatemala. As the boarding team unloaded the last few bales, the Coast Guard said, the unstable vessel began to take on water through its exhaust vents and sank. 

Each boat carried about 7 tons of cocaine worth $196 million.

U.S. Navy, Coast Guard and Drug Enforcement Administration officials say South American drug cartels are turning to semi-submersible vessels, which have a low profile to avoid detection, because of the government's success at thwarting other smuggling techniques, including the use of fishing trawlers and speed boats.

Between 2000 and 2007, U.S. authorities said, there were 23 drug sub "events" that they know of. But the number of sightings has mushroomed. There have been 62 events in the first three quarters of fiscal 2008, officials said.