Guatemala nabs cocaine-stuffed submarine in Pacific

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

Guatemala nabs cocaine-stuffed submarine in Pacific
Sun Jul 11, 2010 3:09pm EDT

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Guatemala's navy captured a makeshift submarine loaded with five metric tons of cocaine bound for the United States, the Guatemalan military said on Sunday.

The navy, which was working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on the operation, stopped the 55-foot (17-meter) vessel on Friday off Guatemala's Pacific coast and arrested four Colombian men on board.

"There was a sleeping compartment, another (compartment) for the engine, and a third for cargo which was full of cocaine," armed forces spokesman Byron Gutierrez told a news conference.

The four men were taken into custody by DEA agents.

Read more: http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCATRE66A1ZK20100711?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=401

[TheWraith]

1. "Makeshift?"

A 55 foot long submarine with a cargo capacity of 11,000 pounds seems a lot more than "makeshift" to me.

[krispos42]

2. Could just be a tank from a semi-trailer fitted with an engine.

Those are about 50 feet long. Throw in a car engine and a propeller shaft, some gasoline, a pair of snorkels, control surfaces, the cocaine, and some ballest and you have something that might work passably.

[TheWraith]

3. That would probably take a lot of effort to waterproof.

Not to mention rigging control surfaces, figuring out the ballast system, setting up the engine... plus it sounds like they were planning to take this thing from Guatemala to the US, which is not exactly a short trip.

[SteveM]

4. Smugglers have been using submersibles for years...

I doubt they would use them for a complete trip to the U.S.; just to a intervening country. Usually, if discovered, the operators jump ship and pull the plug to let the vessel sink.

[Hardrada]

5. I want to see a picture of this. What color was it?

[flvegan]

6. Someone just lost $100 million dollars.