(Bloomberg) -- A submarine allegedly used to smuggle narcotics across the Atlantic has been captured off the coast of Spain, El Pais reported.
Spanish law enforcement on Sunday arrested two Ecuadorean men off the coast of Galicia in northwest Spain whom they believe sailed the 22-meter (72-foot) vessel from Colombia carrying 3,000 kilos (6,600 pounds) of cocaine, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the operation it didn’t name. A third man escaped capture.
The cost of running a submarine, whose police estimated at 2.5 million euros ($2.8 million), has led authorities to believe that the operation was backed by drug cartels, El Pais said.
Galicia’s rugged Atlantic coast with hundreds of hidden coves and desolate beaches has for years been the gateway for illegal drugs into Spain and Europe. Fishermen-turned-smugglers in Galicia came to public attention in the 1990s as the emergence of cartels in Colombia increased global supplies.
It’s not the first time a “narco-submarine” has been discovered in Galician waters. A home-made vessel was captured in one of its inlets in 2006 carrying 750 kilos of cocaine.
Spain’s National Police declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg, saying the case is still under investigation.
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