They seize a Gulf Clan narco-submarine with a capacity of 3 tons of drugs

Defense Minister Diego Molano Aponte confirmed on the night of this Saturday, September 25 the seizure of a semi-submersible belonging to the Gulf Clan. It was used to transport large quantities of drugs from Colombia to Central America.

The announcement was made as part of a member work recognition event of the Colombian National Navy, carried out at the Naval Base of the Arc, located in Bahía Málaga west of the Valle del Cauca department.

According to the official, the incident happened two weeks ago in the Colombian Pacific, as part of Operation Senen. “In this operation, thanks to the device of a special command of 12 divers from our Marine Corps it was possible to reach the point where there was a camp and in addition it was possible to seize and capture a semi-submersible which was intended for the routes to Central America ”.

The attack, carried out by members of the French Navy, also left as pay the neutralization of a Nicaraguan citizen, who would be responsible for the criminal operation of the Gulf Clan in this region of the country, as well as the one responsible for managing relations with the various drug trafficking cartels. He was also reached the capture of three other members of this criminal gang and a whole arsenal of long guns.

For his part, Admiral Gabriel Pérez, Commander of the National Navy, explained to Noticias Caracol that drug trafficking groups are building increasingly sophisticated vehicles. As he explained, they were the first “A normal sea transport vessel; later they put diesel engines inside; then (they proceed) to close them completely hermetically; afterwards, they become electric with the possibility of remaining underwater”.

At the same time, he added, operations aimed at combating this type of drug trafficking have been brought up to date, thanks to the use of increasingly trained personnel and equipped with the latest technologies. In the case of divers, this is demonstrated by the use of special cameras that allow monitoring, from land, everything that happens underwater.

“All this component allowed the French Navy to seize, this year, 247 tons of cocaine», Concluded Admiral Pérez.

In this sense, Molano pointed out that in the country, since 1993, at least 27 illegal devices between semi-submersibles, submersibles and low profile boats. Likewise, he said that the most significant results of this type of operation have taken place in the past three years.

Not only because during this period 111 of these vehicles were seized, which corresponds to approximately 60% of the total mentioned, but also because “a total of 130,263 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride transported in semi-submersibles They were seized by the Public Force in these 3 and a half years, which means that 325,657,500 doses have ceased to reach young people ”.

Fight against drug trafficking

It should be remembered that, according to the Defense Ministry itself, only in 2020 were at least available 18,700 men in uniforms and members of mobile groups advance with the manual eradication of illicit crops.

Thanks to this he was achieved in this period the eradication of a total of 130,000 hectares, equivalent to 120,000 football fields or 3.4 times the city of Medellín. This translates into an economic blow $ 302 million that no longer goes into the coffers of drug trafficking groups, avoiding the production of 115,000 kg of cocaine hydrochloride.

Regarding the 2021 figures, the security portfolio says that until July 22 there was a balance of 38,000 hectares of illegal crops eradicated and at least 346 tons of cocaine hydrochloride seized, which is 30% more than the same period in 2020. Something similar is happening with the coca leaf, of which 541 tonnes were seized, which would be 62% more than last year.

Likewise, the seizure of “over eight million gallons of solid supplies, over 47,000 tons of such solid supplies and over 3,683 illicit drug production facilities have been destroyed ”. The latter figure has grown by 14% compared to the same period of the previous year.

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