Somewhere deep within the mangroves of the Bogota jungle, Colombian drug dealers are tightening bolts on a large fibreglass frame and a salvaged car engine is being fitted into a 30 foot submarine. The sub is not one hijacked from the Navy or bought on the black market, but a vehicle built entirely in the swamps by drug traffickers for the sole purpose of covertly smuggling large quantities of cocaine across American waters.

Basic tools litter the ground and sparks scatter as the windows are welded into place. Along the hub the fibreglass is reinforced and hatches are fitted to scuttle the submarine if needed. Inside there’s enough space for five men and around 10 tons of pure cocaine.

Figures vary, but it’s believed only 10 narco-submarines have ever actually been caught in transit by the authorities, yet an estimated 70% of the cocaine entering America from Colombia is carried across in these makeshift sea vessels. The DEA and the Colombian Commandos patrol the Bogota jungle daily to prevent their construction, destroying any cocaine submarines they might find and burning drug refining factories on sight. They’ve joined forces in an attempt to stem the overwhelming trade of narcotics taking place in the region.

The cartels needed a new way to cross the seas without being detected, and are said to have even enlisted scientists to help design their new contraptions.

Despite the authorities best efforts though, the drug dealers have proved ever more resourceful in their efforts to outsmart them, as three quarters of the world’s cocaine is still manufactured and trafficked from Colombia. The militiamen would once skim their coke loaded speedboats through shallow waters, away from advancing coastguards whose boats would get stuck in the low tide. But the DEA grew wise to this, taking to the air in their helicopters to fire shots at the dealers with sniper rifles. The cartels needed a new way to cross the seas without being detected, and are said to have even enlisted scientists to help design their new contraptions.

Richard Griffiths, a former US international advisor for Colombia told me: “I have actually seen a few narco-submarines, and although rustic in appearance, they are very fast and highly difficult to detect. The really amazing part is that they are built within the jungle, costing millions.”

Narco-submarines are constructed in the bayous of Colombia, some of which are eight times the size of London and controlled almost entirely by FARC guerrillas. The FARC are an organised gang of drug dealing militia, armed to the teeth and fighting against the Colombian government in a bid to overthrow them and implement their Marxist philosophies. Their manifesto states that they’re working class militants fighting for freedom in a corrupt land of fat politicians and rich policemen. They also happen to be hell bent on ridding Colombia of American law enforcement in an effort, they claim, to form a properly independent sovereignty (either that or because the DEA regularly confiscation and destroy large amounts of their cocaína). Many of them are highly trained ex-soldiers from times of communist rule, who often deploy makeshift gas cylinder mortar bombs and landmines in the jungle to protect their territory from intruders.

Once the narco-subs are ready, they can usually take up to 5,000 litres of diesel and speed away at 6 knots (about 11 KPH). Before they set off, the subs are loaded with coke and then sailed north through 20 kilometres of waterway in the jungle. Each kilo of cocaine in the submarine is worth around $3000, but by the time it’s made its way successfully to the shores of the US and then on through Mexico, the drugs are worth over $14,000 a kilo.

The notorious Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar made in excess of $25 billion in his career as a cocaine dealer and head of the Medellin Cartel. His fortune allowed him to buy anything he could imagine, including hippos imported from New Orleans and even a private Learjet that he used to smuggle tons of pure cocaine around the world in. Since being shot dead by the Colombian military in a storm of gunfire as he tried to escape his hideout in 1993, drug dealers in Colombia can no longer be as brazen as Escobar when going about their business. This has led to these incredible feats of guerrilla technology which have opened up the market for rebel scientists and cartel members alike.

Many of them are highly trained ex-soldiers who often deploy makeshift gas cylinder mortar bombs.

After much publicity and the parading of captured narco-subs in the media, drug lords have already formulated new ingenious ways to transport their goods. One such device is the narco-torpedo. These large hollowed out torpedo shaped vessels hold around three kilos of cocaine and are virtually undetectable. The torpedo is attached to the back of a fishing boat, sailing around 30 metres below the surface. If the DEA come to inspect the boat, the smugglers driving it simply cut the cargo loose and reclaim it later. They know exactly where it is as a remote radio signal is activated on jettison. This can be picked up miles away in the safety of the jungle. The man who first conceived the narco-torpedo actually moved in with the drug cartels in the jungle for over a year and documented his invention’s progress on video camera. Unfortunately for him, this footage was later seized in a bust and used as evidence in court when sending him to jail.

The guerrilla science used to make these drug trafficking machines seems wasted in the depths of the Colombian jungle. Some even believe them to be the work of dissented US government engineers. Whoever it is creating these dope smugglers, they can be sure that if the “war on drugs” ever does come to an end, they’ll all have jobs ready and waiting for them in America – perhaps at NASA. It’s not like it hasn’t happened before…

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