LISBON – A semi-submersible vessel carrying 6.5 tonnes of cocaine with an estimated street value of £530 million has been seized in a massive international drug bust.
Authorities intercepted the vessel 500 nautical miles south of the Azores, marking one of the largest maritime drug seizures in recent history.
The 57-year-old Turkish man, one of Europol’s “high-value targets,” was running a massive network flooding Western Europe with heroin. This wasn’t just any random bust—Germany, the Netherlands, and Europol teamed up for this investigation, which traced the drugs all the way back to a 2022 seizure at Hamburg’s port.
The seizure was the result of a coordinated multi-agency operation involving law enforcement from Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States, alongside intelligence-sharing networks dedicated to disrupting transatlantic drug smuggling routes.
According to Portugal’s Judiciary Police (PJ), the submarine departed from Brazil and was bound for Europe, where the illicit cargo was set to be distributed across multiple countries.
“This is a major blow to international drug cartels operating between South America and Europe,” said a spokesperson for the PJ. “Semi-submersibles like this are increasingly being used to evade detection, but our collaboration with international partners ensured this shipment never reached its destination.”
The vessel, believed to be a custom-built narco-submarine, was intercepted in the mid-Atlantic Ocean after authorities tracked its movements using advanced surveillance technology and maritime intelligence.
Upon boarding the semi-submersible, three crew members—reportedly of Colombian and Ecuadorian nationality—were arrested. Officials suspect they were part of a larger cartel operation linked to South American drug trafficking networks.
“These vessels are designed for stealth, operating low in the water to avoid detection. The criminals behind this operation are highly organised, but we are determined to dismantle their networks,” a Portuguese police official stated.
The use of semi-submersibles, often called narco-subs, has become an increasingly common tactic for drug cartels attempting to smuggle cocaine from Colombia, Brazil, and Ecuador to Europe and North America. These vessels are typically built in jungle workshops, costing millions to construct, and can evade radar detection by submerging just below the water’s surface.
This latest bust highlights the persistent challenge of tackling the global cocaine trade, with Europe now emerging as a key destination for South American cartels.
Authorities have confirmed that investigations are ongoing, and further arrests could be made as law enforcement agencies continue to dismantle the wider network responsible for the shipment.
