A record seizure for a 45-day operation in which some sixty countries participated. 225 tons of hydrochloride cocaine and 128 tons of marijuana They were seized in semi-submersibles that were crossing the Pacific between Colombia and Australia, Vice Admiral of the Colombian Navy, Orlando Enrique Grisales, announced to the press this Wednesday, November 27.
The agent revealed in particular the seizure of a semi-submersible heading to Australia with cocaine manufactured in Colombia.
“A semi-submersible was intercepted in Pacific waters 1,200 miles southwest of the French island of Clipperton (almost 3,500 kilometers northwest of the Colombian coast), heading for Australia. It was transporting a cargo of 5,000 kilos, or 5 tons, of hydrochloride. cocaine, but it had enough fuel to go from Colombia to Australia without resupply at sea,” Almirante Grisales explained.
“This is the third case of a semi-submersible on the Colombia-Australia route” identified. “The first was found in Colombian waters and, thanks to the mapping it carried, we had identified its route.”
Since then, Colombian authorities have been working together with their Australian counterparts on this “new line” of drug trafficking, with sophisticated wooden boats covered in fiberglass, capable of traveling this route of more than 15,000 kilometers without refueling, the senior officer explained.
A “juicy path”
According to Admiral Grisales, a kilogram of cocaine sells for up to $240,000 in Australia, while the price in the United States ranges between $33,000 and $40,000.
“It is an increasingly juicy route because prices are much higher in Australia,” a Western security source told AFP, confirming this new route “in the mode of operation of the semi-submersibles that go further and further and are more and more elaborate”.
“In the beginning, these boats were mainly used to take out drugs, keep them away from the Colombian coast and then transfer them to the boats. We realized that these semi-submersibles, sometimes even submersibles, are now becoming more and more sophisticated, with very fine materials .engineering”, we added from the same source.
“Today there are transnational organized crime networks that associate with each other. We see how Mexican cartels, criminal groups in Colombia, criminal groups in Ecuador, Peru and Brazil are linked, but we also have mafias from Belarus, criminal groups in Europe and Oceania,” added the Colombian admiral.
More than 400 arrests were made as part of the operation led by the international justice network Orion, supported by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Colombia is the largest exporter of cocaine in the world. In 2023, cocaine production will increase by 53% to reach 2,600 tons per year, according to the United Nations.
Source: BFM TV
