What must have been going through the minds of the mariners as they set out on a voyage they likely feared they wouldn’t survive? How did they say goodbye to their loved ones before leaving? And what drove them to take on such a dangerous mission? The answers to these questions, like the identities of the sailors, remain unknown to Brazilian police.
What investigators do know is the purpose of the vessel: a dungeon-like “narco-submarine” that was just days away from beginning a harrowing three-week journey across the Atlantic, carrying hundreds of millions of pounds worth of cocaine to Europe.
“You could offer me any amount of money, and I still wouldn’t go on such an insane journey,” said Fernando Casarin, the federal police chief whose special forces recently seized the narco-sub just before it was set to depart from the Amazon.
“You wonder if it’s a matter of great courage or a total lack of awareness of what they were getting into,” added Casarin, who oversees the state of Pará, where the sub was discovered in May at a hidden dockyard on Marajó Island.
Colombian drug lords first began using narco-subs—handmade semi-submersibles that travel just below the water’s surface with only the cockpit visible—to smuggle cocaine through the Caribbean to Mexico and the U.S. in the 1980s.
More recently, crime bosses have become far more ambitious, commissioning fiberglass vessels to transport huge shipments of cocaine thousands of miles to the coasts of Portugal and Spain.
Casarin explained that the staggering profits from cocaine trafficking are why South American criminals continue to use submarines despite the risks. A kilo of cocaine can be bought for $1,000–$2,000 on Brazil’s border with Colombia, the world’s top cocaine producer. In Europe, where demand is soaring, the same amount sells for about $60,000. A sub successfully smuggling 5 or 6 tons of the drug to Europe could earn its owners $200–$250 million. “The profits are astronomical,” Casarin said.
Javier Romero, a Spanish journalist and leading expert on the narco-sub industry, suspects that South American kingpins began using this underwater trafficking route in the late 1990s.
However, police only confirmed the route’s existence in 2019, when the first such vessel was intercepted off the Iberian Peninsula after its three occupants endured a 27-day nightmare journey from the Brazilian Amazon.
Romero, who works for the newspaper La Voz de Galicia, believes the phenomenon has intensified dramatically in recent months, with a noticeable uptick in activity over the summer. Spanish police went from receiving narco-sub alerts once every three months to more than five per month.
In mid-September, Spanish police seized 3,500 kg of cocaine delivered to the Galician coastline and arrested three Colombian suspects—though their narco-sub was never found.
Three months after the Brazilian narco-sub was captured on Marajó, the Guardian was given access to the 60-foot vessel. Even on dry land, climbing into its cramped control room through a small hatch is a chilling and claustrophobic experience.
Two narrow wooden bunk beds on either side of the wheelhouse offer the only resting space. A plastic windscreen would have been the sailors’ only view of the outside world as they pushed through the waves toward Europe at about 16 km/h.
Osvaldo Sca…Lezi, head of the federal police anti-drug division, noted that while many assume drowning is the main danger of traveling in a narco-sub, he believes suffocation is the greater risk. “There’s a very high-powered engine inside, and the exhaust pipes are crudely made. Nothing prevents combustion gases from leaking into the vessel and asphyxiating everyone on board,” he explained.
Inside the cockpit of the seized narco-submarine in Belém, a compass and small windows just above the waterline were used for navigation. In the wooden bow, where drugs would have been stored, the only comforts for the crew during their 6,000 km transatlantic journey were a 700-liter drinking water tank, a freezer, and a portable air conditioner to cool the sweltering, greenhouse-like interior.
Casarin, observing the wood and fiberglass hull, compared the crew’s daring voyage to the 1969 Apollo moon landing. “It’s on that level,” he remarked. “It’s a crazy, pirate’s life.”
The unnamed blue vessel was found two months after a nearly identical semisubmersible was intercepted near the Azores in a March operation involving Portuguese, Spanish, U.S., and UK authorities. Along with 6 tons of cocaine, it carried five men, three of whom were from Brazil’s Pará region.
For Casarin, the arrest of those three Brazilians highlighted that Pará and neighboring Amapá are becoming hubs for building such vessels. Romero added that the area’s remote jungles and mangroves are ideal for hiding “clandestine shipyards” that produce narco-subs. However, South America has multiple construction sites, and Europe is no longer the farthest destination.
Henry Shuldiner, a researcher from Insight Crime, noted that in late 2024, Colombian police intercepted a semisubmersible heading across the Pacific toward Australia and New Zealand—a journey taking at least twice as long as the trip to Europe. In January, a scuttled narco-sub washed up on Sierra Leone’s coast, reinforcing Shuldiner’s view that the narco-sub industry is going global.
Despite the billions earned from drug trafficking, little money reaches the crews who pilot these vessels. Casarin estimated Brazilian sailors make just 30,000–50,000 reais (about £4,000–£7,000) per trip. Romero, author of the book Operation Black Tide, said Ecuadorian crewmembers on the first narco-sub seized in Europe were offered around $15,000.
“Narcotrafficking is an industry of exploitation; it always has been,” said Romero, who calls the unstable vessels “propeller-driven coffins.” He added, “Just imagine spending hours or days stuck inside one of these things. It is total madness.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about narcosubmarines designed to be clear and informative
General Beginner Questions
Q What exactly is a narcosubmarine
A Its a general term for any lowprofile custombuilt watercraft designed specifically to smuggle large quantities of drugs primarily cocaine undetected Most are not true submarines that can fully submerge for long periods
Q Why do cartels use them instead of boats or planes
A They are much harder to detect than standard boats They ride low in the water have a minimal radar signature and can travel long distances making interdiction by coast guards and navies more difficult
Q How much cocaine can one of these vessels carry
A A single narcosubmarine can typically carry between 2 to 10 metric tons of cocaine with a street value often exceeding 100 million
Q Where are these routes most common
A The primary route is from the Pacific coast of South America northward to Mexico or Central America from where the drugs are moved overland to the United States
Technical Operational Questions
Q How are these submarines built
A They are typically built by hand in hidden jungle camps Builders use fiberglass wood and sometimes steel following basic designs They are powered by diesel engines and are not built for comfort or longterm use
Q Can they actually go completely underwater
A There are different types Most are LowProfile Vessels that ride just above the surface with only a tiny cockpit visible Some are semisubmersibles that can briefly submerge to avoid detection but must have a snorkel to run their engine Fully submersible submarines are rare due to their complexity and cost
Q How long do these journeys take
A A trip from Colombia to Mexico can take anywhere from two to four weeks depending on weather ocean currents and the vessels speed
Q Who operates them
A They are crewed by experienced mariners hired by drug cartels The job is extremely dangerous and crews are often promised large sums of money for a successful run
Risks Consequences
Q What are the biggest risks for the crew
A The risks are
