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Colombian authorities have arrested a group of drug traffickers accused of using submarines to transport over 5,000 kilograms of cocaine to the U.S.
A grand jury in New York has charged them with running a smuggling operation using these vessels, U.S. officials announced Thursday.
Arrest of the Smuggling Crew
The six suspects, all Colombian men aged 39 to 68, were caught on Wednesday and are expected to be sent to New York for trial.
These men are the latest group accused of using semi-submersible boats, also known as narco-submarines, to transport drugs.
Although these vessels are not true submarines, they are designed to travel mostly underwater while staying hidden from law enforcement.
Drug cartels have been using them to move large amounts of cocaine, sometimes worth tens of millions of dollars per trip.
U.S. Attorney’s Statement
John J. Durham, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said these arrests have put an end to the smugglers’ operation.
“The United States will not allow dangerous drugs to be brought into our country. We will prosecute these criminals in Brooklyn and ensure they face justice,” he stated.
Federal officials revealed that the traffickers transported cocaine from Colombia to Central America and Mexico, where the powerful Sinaloa Cartel took over distribution.
In 2023, they were caught twice with large shipments of cocaine in areas under U.S. jurisdiction.
Crew Members and Potential Sentences
The six men charged in the case are:
Elkin Armando Alomia Quinones, 39
Diego Luis Obregon Aguirre, 46
Edwin Obregon Castro, 40
Juan Matias Obregon Castro, 48
Rodrigo Obregon Saavedra, 68
Narjel Paredes, 55
If convicted, they could face life in prison.
Michael Alfonso, acting special agent for Homeland Security Investigations in New York, said that the suspects showed great creativity in their smuggling methods.
However, he emphasized that the combined efforts of U.S. law enforcement agencies successfully dismantled their operation.
International Cooperation in the Investigation
Multiple agencies worked together to track and arrest the smugglers.
This included teams from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in New York, Bogotá, Puerto Rico, and Madrid, as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Puerto Rico and Colombia’s Cuerpo Técnico de Investigación, a law enforcement agency similar to the FBI.
How the Smuggling Network Operated
According to investigators, the drug traffickers managed their smuggling business from Colombia’s Pacific coast, an area known for high cocaine production since the days of drug lord Pablo Escobar.
The operation was highly organized, involving financial investors who funded the construction of the submarines. Engineers built the vessels, and the group also had informants disguised as fishermen.
These spies monitored law enforcement activities and warned the smugglers about naval patrols.
Court documents show that between January and October 2023, the group was caught twice with drugs on board their submarines.
On June 27, 2023, authorities intercepted 2,312 kilograms of cocaine, and on October 7, 2023, they seized 3,300 kilograms of the drug.
The Evolution of Narco-Submarines
Using hidden vessels for smuggling is not new. During the Prohibition era in the U.S., smugglers built small submarines to move illegal alcohol.
Drug cartels reportedly started using narco-submarines in the late 1980s when the U.S. government cracked down on smuggling via speedboats and small aircraft.
By 2009, these vessels were responsible for over one-third of the drugs smuggled into the U.S., according to The Washington Post.
Modern narco-submarines can now transport more than 12 tons of cocaine per trip. Some are even capable of reaching Europe.
These vessels are usually made of fiberglass, painted in blue or gray to blend with the ocean, and run on diesel or electric engines. Some are remotely controlled, while others require a small crew.
Security expert Mario Pazmiño, a former Ecuadorian military intelligence chief, explained that these submarines are difficult to detect because of their shape and ability to carry large drug loads.
Crackdown on Narco-Submarine Trafficking
U.S. officials continue to target drug cartels using submarines. Many recent cases have been handled in Florida courts.
For example, in October 2023, a Colombian trafficker, Henry Aguirre-Valois, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for transporting $75 million worth of cocaine using a narco-submarine.
His crew was caught off the coast of Ecuador with 2,500 kilograms of cocaine—less than what the six-man Colombian crew was carrying in October 2023.
The arrest of these traffickers is another victory in the fight against drug smuggling.
However, law enforcement agencies worldwide remain on high alert as drug cartels continue to improve their smuggling techniques.
