The last time we saw this narco sub, it had just been caught, fresh from its treacherous journey
across the Atlantic Ocean — from South America, where it was built in the jungle, to Spain
where it was found filled with three tons of high-grade cocaine
That was in 2019 and everyone wanted to have a better look at it then
Especially the inside. So here we are. The sub was on the move again this week, although by
land rather than sea, and we finally get a better look at it — a lot drier, but empty of its cargo
The Mob Reporter here with the latest news on a remarkable vessel that made an incredible journey
Making its way into the history books as the first narco sub from South America ever seized
in European waters. Let me tell you about it. Now if you're new to this amazing story, you need to know
that a narco sub is a submarine — or more commonly a semi-submersible — built in secret in remote areas
of South America, where coke is made, and then tries to sneak that product into a country where it will
be sold. Riding below the waves or very low to the surface, they blend in with the ocean so well they
are extremely hard to find. Usually they're used to shuttle the goods north to the United States
but this one was found in Europe, a trip of almost 4,000 miles in a rickety homemade vessel. It's like
traveling the ocean in a tin can. Imagine being in it. The sub started its journey in Guyana
in South America, where it was constructed in the jungle at the behest of the narcos, before loading up
in Colombia and setting sail. Spanish authorities think bad weather prevented its cargo from being
offloaded from the sub onto a ship off the coast, and then forced the sub to seek calmer waters
closer to shore. It was spotted by an aircraft with night vision equipment on Spain's Galician
coast. It's an area notorious for smuggling because of its many secluded coves and curving coastline
It's an area that's become a major entry point to Europe of Colombian cocaine, especially after
a crackdown on ports in southern Italy, where the Mafia held significant influence and control
Now this 72-foot sub was towed to port and examined, its contents removed, analyzed, tested
and its journey traced. Now flash forward to this week. Early in the morning of Feb. 3, 2021, the
narco sub started its final journey, strapped to a transport truck and escorted by two police patrols
It was driven from the port in Pontevedra, near where it was found, and hauled 320 miles inland
to its new home, in Avila, an hour's drive outside the Spanish capital of Madrid. This, however, did not
happen without controversy. You see, seizing the narco sub was a joint operation, largely between
the country's two national police agencies: the Policia Nacional and the Guardia Civil
The Policia Nacional, translated simply as the national police, is a civilian agency and the
Guardia Civil, which translates as the civil guard, has a military status, although both of
them are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior. They have similar mandates, which can
bring awkward competition, especially when they overlap. And both of them wanted the narco sub
as their trophy. Whatever negotiations happened in the background over the past 15 months I'll likely
never know — personally i hope the top ranking officer from each had an arm wrestling contest
or maybe a game of chess — in any event the decision was finally made to turn it over
to the national police. The national police is the primary agency for handling cooperation with other
law enforcement agencies in other countries, and since the whole operation targeting the narco sub
started with a tip from abroad, likely the United States, that may have been the deciding factor
And so it was assigned to a Policia Nacional training school
Once at its new home, as curious onlookers gawked, two cranes were used to hoist it
to the parking lot tarmac. She will remain there for a while, on display as a magnificent trophy
I can't help but thinking that after such a long, arduous, and crazy journey, that it's something
of a sad ending for this beast to be left in a parking lot, with officers taking selfies with it
I'll leave links to my original video on the discovery of this sub here and in the description
down below. I'll also put a link into my all-time most viral video which is also about a narco sub
Thanks for watching