First Narco Submarine Captured In Europe Moved To Police Academy
Spanish police have transported a captured narco sub – the first of its kind found in Europe during a joint operation that included the UK authorities – to display in a police academy.
The footage of the move was shared by the Spanish National Police after they moved the narco vessel to their National School of Police in the city of Avila in the Spanish autonomous community of Castile and Leon yesterday, 4th February.
It was moved from the Port of Vigo in the autonomous community of Galicia near where it had been kept for 14 months before it was moved to the academy for storage.
The video shows the submarine being carefully taken into the complex before the cameraperson shows the inside of the cramped vessel.
The submarine sank close to the shore of Pontevedra in Galicia where the authorities managed to lift it out of the water on 27th November 2019.
According to the Spanish Civil Guard, the narco submarine was the first found in Europe.
They found 152 cocaine packages inside on the same day its crew sank the vessel when they couldn’t complete their journey due to weather conditions.
The cargo reportedly contained 3,000 kilogrammes (6,614 pounds) of cocaine and the submarine was capable of transporting between three and five tonnes of drugs.
The Spanish authorities managed to intercept the submarine after they were warned by the Maritime Analysis and Operation Centre (MAOC) and the Intelligence Centre for Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime (CITCO) about a suspicious ship sailing towards Spain in the Atlantic.
In this first phase, collaboration with the UK authorities was reportedly essential to intercept the submarine. The Portuguese, Brazilian, and US police also helped in the operation.
Three people were arrested for suspicion of navigating the submarine and an additional four people were arrested in subsequent investigations, according to an official report by the Ministry of the Interior yesterday 4th February.
However, they did not give information on their identities or who they are affiliated with.