Narco Submarine Busted in the Pacific with Tons of Cocaine Was Heading to Australia and New Zealand

“We are part of an international network of like-minded law enforcement partners, including New Zealand Police,” Brown said.

Captain Manuel Rodríguez, director of the Colombian Navy’s anti-narcotics unit, told the Guardian the Pacific route is a new route that drug traffickers have opened for ‘narco-submarines’. These are semi-submersible stealth craft that are usually underwater, making them difficult to spot.

“The ship was found in the middle of nowhere, almost 3,000 miles off the Colombian coast en route to Australia and New Zealand,” Rodríguez said.

Vice Admiral Orlando Enrique Grisales of the Colombian Navy told reporters that this is the third “narco-submarine” identified on the route.

“The first was discovered in Colombian waters, and thanks to the maps on it we were able to identify the route. That’s when we started working with the Australian authorities,” he said.

He added that Operation Orion exposed close relations between the two South American drug trafficking groups and Oceania.

“They are organized crime networks that are connected,” he said.

New Zealand Customs says it is aware of the smuggling routes and has been working closely with foreign partner organizations for many years to protect our borders against drug threats.

The availability of cocaine is increasing in New Zealand

It comes as drug traffickers around the world are finding new, more sophisticated ways to get their illicit substances to New Zealand’s shores, attracted by our high prices and big profits.

Two major new drug use surveys released earlier in November showed significant increases in drug use availability, especially cocaine.

“Cocaine has traditionally been difficult to obtain in New Zealand, but we have seen a doubling of reported use to 2.4% in the last two years. We worry that people may not be aware of how addictive it is,” said Sarah Helm, director of the Drug Foundation.

Earlier this year, a police spokesperson said the prevalence of cocaine has increased Preventing its spread is a point of attention for the police.

“Police are conducting investigations aimed at dismantling and disrupting the supply of cocaine to New Zealand communities. We aim to take a balanced approach to the drug market, including cocaine, by targeting organized crime groups, while treating individual drug use primarily as a health problem.”

The spokesperson said New Zealand is often a transshipment point and seized cocaine is often destined for other locations.

“Last year, New Zealand Police, working with New Zealand Customs and the New Zealand Defense Force, recovered 3,348kg of cocaine floating in the ocean during Operation Hydros. This brings the total wholesale value to more than $580 million.”

Katie Oliver is a multimedia journalist and reporter from Christchurch.