Federales Nab Colombian Smuggler/Seaman
December 16th, 2008 by Perry
Enrique Portocarrero, a Colombian shrimp fisherman, was recently arrested and now faces extradition to the United States, on smuggling and conspiracy charges.
Portocarrero was charged with building more than a dozen mini-semi-submersibles, similar to a submarine although the crafts don’t fully submerge.
The vessels are designed to carry up to 8 tons of cargo and went for a million dollars a pop. The real value lied in the ship’s ability to avoid detection; leaving a small heat signature and negligible sonar appearance. The craft could make make the money back several times over after one trip.
The shift to submarines was made over a year ago, when all licensed craft off of the Colombian and Ecuadorean coasts became required to carry GPS signals, so police could track them.
Some of the semi-sub’s specs:
- 60-feet long
- 350-horsepower diesel engines
- Four-man crew
- State-of-the-art radio, GPS and satellite telephone communications
- Range of 2,000 miles
Fiberglass, Submarines & Drugs
November 4th, 2008 by Alex
We all know the new hot fad in drug smuggling is homemade submarines, but have any of us ever seen one?
Well, here are two images fresh from the wire. A fiber glass submarine with 1.6 tons of cocaine was found and seized in southern Colombia. Good times.
One more after the jump…
[photo via AP Photo/Fernando Vergara]
Colombian Drug Cartel: Driver Wanted
April 25th, 2007 by Tim
Since we’re already on the subject, here is one more photoset of another large cocaine bust.
In Colombia, a place not known for its traffic safety, a ton of cocaine was discovered after the truck transporting it crashed. It must be a nice day for police officers to have 2,000+ pounds of coke just fall into your lap like that.
You know that heads were rolling in someone’s bodega after a screw up of that proportion.
See more pictures after the jump…
Don’t Drug Traffic in Columbia
February 5th, 2007 by Alex
At the end of 2006 and continuing into this year, certain Latin American governments have launched a heavy offensive against drug cartels. The most publicized of these was Mexico’s various efforts, including the use of it’s army to eradicate grow operations in extremely rural areas.
Columbia is another country pushing forward with anti-trafficking operations. The picture above is of police guarding more than two tons of marijuana that was confiscated near the border of Venezuela.
So here’s my question, are the red-packaged bricks individual size and the giant white one’s a valu-pack?
[AP Photo/Leonardo Munoz]
