Inside Seized Drug-Smuggling Submarines

#1

Post by rfreytag » Wed, Mar 30, 2011, 11:49 AM UTC

Inside Seized Drug-Smuggling Submarines
time.com

Re: Inside Seized Drug-Smuggling Submarines

#2

Post by hjrnunes » Wed, Mar 30, 2011, 2:21 PM UTC

VBS made a piece on this a while ago: http://www.vbs.tv/watch/motherboard/colombian-narcosubs

Re: Inside Seized Drug-Smuggling Submarines

#3

Post by Nanofied » Wed, Mar 30, 2011, 2:54 PM UTC

That's pretty crazy that they are able to construct such complex vessels, but yet they still resort to trafficking drugs.

Re: Inside Seized Drug-Smuggling Submarines

#4

Post by redacted » Wed, Mar 30, 2011, 2:56 PM UTC

The phenomenon of drug-smuggling submarines should be required study for anyone who preaches total prohibition of drugs.

There is so much demand for this product that its suppliers were willing to build and travel in several homemade submersibles to smuggle it. And yet harsh jail-time and zero-tolerance are supposed to stop the trade?

Re: Inside Seized Drug-Smuggling Submarines

#5

Post by jschuur » Wed, Mar 30, 2011, 2:56 PM UTC

I wonder if they make remote controlled ones.

Re: Inside Seized Drug-Smuggling Submarines

#6

Post by arethuza » Wed, Mar 30, 2011, 3:12 PM UTC

Nanofied wrote: post #3

That's pretty crazy that they are able to construct such complex vessels, but yet they still resort to trafficking drugs.

I would suspect that the people who build these vessels might be smart enough to avoid actually traveling in them.

Re: Inside Seized Drug-Smuggling Submarines

#7

Post by icegreentea » Wed, Mar 30, 2011, 3:14 PM UTC

Nanofied wrote: post #3

That's pretty crazy that they are able to construct such complex vessels, but yet they still resort to trafficking drugs.

I think it's the other way around. It's pretty crazy that trafficking drugs allows/drives them to construct such complex vessels.

Re: Inside Seized Drug-Smuggling Submarines

#8

Post by nooneelse » Wed, Mar 30, 2011, 3:22 PM UTC

redacted wrote: post #4

The phenomenon of drug-smuggling submarines should be required study for anyone who preaches total prohibition of drugs. There is so much demand for this product that its suppliers were willing to build and travel in several homemade submersibles to smuggle it. And yet harsh jail-time and zero-tolerance are supposed to stop the trade?

Not only have the profit levels been driven up so that the suppliers are willing to build and use submarines, they are ok scuttling them after a single use. Submarines are a disposable tool to the drug trade. And they can survive interception of very high ratios of their shipments by simply sending more shipments. I agree, this prohibition strategy seems to be fundamentally flawed. Truly mind-boggling amounts of money could be spent on harm-reduction strategies and still be cheaper than this.

Re: Inside Seized Drug-Smuggling Submarines

#9

Post by Nanofied » Wed, Mar 30, 2011, 3:22 PM UTC

arethuza wrote: post #6

Nanofied wrote: post #3

That's pretty crazy that they are able to construct such complex vessels, but yet they still resort to trafficking drugs.

I would suspect that the people who build these vessels might be smart enough to avoid actually traveling in them.

I wouldn't be surprised if the people who build them don't actually go inside of them.

Re: Inside Seized Drug-Smuggling Submarines

#10

Post by philthy » Wed, Mar 30, 2011, 3:29 PM UTC

jschuur wrote: post #5

I wonder if they make remote controlled ones.

Why spend more money on robotics when you have an almost unlimited supply of patsies. A 2 weeks trip originating in narrow Jungle swamps and transiting deep ocean water would require serious robotic control. But if they keep making so much money I wouldn't be surprised if they went all Mars rover on the subs. Hell when I first saw these things a few years back they were just fiberglass boats with no top, that Feb 1st craft was a legitimate submarine.