I’m about to board the first known «narco-submarine» to bring cocaine from South America to Europe.

It is 20 meters long, made of fiberglass and surprisingly homemade.

After climbing to the top, I lift the crooked hatch cover and descend into the hull where three men survived for 27 long days and nights, as they sailed the Atlantic Ocean just below the surface where the waves crash.

It’s cramped, claustrophobic, and incredibly primitive.

Sunlight tries to sneak in through the faint cracks in the walls. There’s a rudder, a couple of basic dials, and a rusty key still wedged in the ignition.

It can be understood why a potential captain took one look at the ship and concluded that it was a death trap.

The heat and noise would have been intense as the engine at the stern of the submarine burned the 20,000 liters of fuel stored on board.

The crew, made up of two Ecuadorian cousins ​​and a former Spanish boxer, set out from the Brazilian jungle and traveled first along the Amazon River.

They had energy bars, sardine cans, and plastic bags that they used as odorless.

That was all they had. Plus, of course, three tons of cocaine valued at more than $150 million.

But this was not a lucrative, covert mission perfectly accomplished.

The submarine’s journey in late 2019 had been tracked by security forces, including the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA).

After sinking the vessel off the coast of Galicia in trouble, the men were arrested and jailed.

This piece of history in the fight against international drug trafficking is now a trophy in the parking lot of the Spanish police academy in Ávila.

But it is not a relic of a battle of the past: it is the symbol of a phenomenon that grows in secret.

Last month, another submarine was discovered off the Spanish coast, again in the Galicia region.

«For more than 20 years, traffickers have used submarines to reach Africa and Europebut these two are the first that we have seized,» explains Antonio Martínez Duarte, Chief Commissioner of the Central Narcotics Brigade of the Spanish National Police.

«They are very difficult to detect,» he admits.

In fact, hundreds of homemade submarines are believed to have been launched towards Europe, which is the largest cocaine market after the US, and one that is growing rapidly after shrinking during the covid pandemic.

Even It is said that in the mid-Atlantic, around the Canary Islands and the Azores, lies a massive graveyard of cocaine submarines.deliberately scuttled after the drugs were successfully offloaded.

Each covert mission would have been a great triumph for the teams of mechanics who quietly built their vessels deep in the South American jungle, mainly in Guyana and Suriname.

Here in Spain, however, as part of the global war on drugs, the police proclaim a great victory at their headquarters in Madrid.

«This is a very important operation,» says Commissioner Duarte. «It is the first time that we have found a ton and a half of cocaine base paste in Europe.»

In fact, they say they dismantled the largest laboratory ever found on the continent to convert coca paste into cocaine. But it’s not just the size of the loot that’s significant.

«This operation also confirms the links between Colombian and Mexican criminals who have joined Spanish gangs working in Spain,» says Duarte.

Clearly proud of their work, the police transported the contents of the lab to a press conference room to show to local journalists.

The stench of raw coca paste, like that of vinegar, hangs in the air.

The process of making the drug was replicated, with barrels of chemical products, a microwave, a hydraulic press and scales, reflecting the journey from the paste to the final product.

On a table at the other end of the room are dozens of brown packages, each the size of a house brick, emblazoned with the Superman logo, the symbol of choice for dealers who undoubtedly have a sense of invincibility. .

An agent leans in and whispers that importers pay 27,000 to 32,000 euros ($30,000 to $35,000) for each package. Then they at least double their money when they sell it on the streets.

The only limit to their profits is how much they dilute their drug with other compounds, ranging from anesthetics (which mimic the physical sensations associated with cocaine, such as numbness in the mouth) to cheaper options like caffeine and glucose. .

But there are also other options, among which are antiparasitic drugs, normally used by veterinarians.

This dismantled laboratory in the city of Pontevedra, in Galicia, was capable of producing 200 kilos a day with a purity of 95%, according to the police.

Along with the submarines, the lab is a glimpse into a rapidly expanding drug world.

The United Nations drug agency says cocaine production increased by a third between 2020 and 2021, which was a record and the biggest year-on-year increase since 2016.

One place where they are witnessing the increased supply of the drug firsthand is in the port of Antwerp in Belgium.

A record 110 tons of cocaine was seized in 2022, so much that incinerators were not needed to destroy it fast enough.

According to some estimates, only 10% of the cocaine arriving at the port is intercepted and the rest goes to the Netherlands for distribution to all corners of Europe, including the UK.

As the head of customs at the port told me, with this tsunami of cocaine they are never going to win the battle.

And this is a fight that has turned into murder on the streets of Antwerp. In January, an 11-year-old girl was killed in a shootout between gangs linked to cocaine trafficking in the city.

Belgian Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne has been living in a safe house for the past year after police uncovered an alleged plot by Dutch criminals to kidnap him.

A car containing firearms was discovered outside his home.

One of Belgium’s leading investigative judges, Michel Claise, says the cocaine industry is out of control.

«It’s an absolute fortune for what we call drug dealers,» he says, as we meet near the massive Palace of Justice in the Belgian capital, Brussels.

Claise points out that with their wealth and influence, the narcos are now more powerful than those who seek justice.

«With money laundering and corruption – which is now unlimited in terms of the sums that can be offered to dockers, policemen and others – how do they want us to have any control over criminal organizations?

«It’s over,» he concludes.

The cocaine crisis in Belgium is the cocaine crisis in Europe, and the UN is now warning that rival criminal groups around the world are working together like never before.

He claims that after their success on this continent, they will soon expand to Asia and Africa in their quest for unlimited riches.

Additional reporting by Bruno Boelpaep

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BBC-NEWS-SRC: IMPORT DATE: 2023-04-26 11:20:07