The Colombian navy seized a submarine in the Pacific Ocean containing over $87.7 million worth of cocaine and two dead bodies.
The 49-foot craft was estimated to have been carrying 2.6 tons of the illicit substance, the New York Post reported. Two living crew members were also detained. They were in critical need of medical attention.
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“Once the illegal device was located, military personnel found two individuals in poor health conditions on the outside of the vessel,” Colombia’s Ministry of National Defense said in a statement.
“Apparently, there was an accident inside the semi-submersible due to the generation of toxic gases from the fuel,” it added. “The two men were treated and transported to a nearby vessel, where they were given the necessary medical attention to safeguard their lives.”
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The two survivors, corpses, and cocaine were all brought to the Technical Investigation Corps of the Attorney General’s Office in the municipality of Tumaco. The Defense Ministry said it believes the vessel belonged to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a Marxist insurgent group that has waged war against the government since 1964. It has been known to resort to illicit activities such as drug trafficking to finance its operations.
A November report from the International Crisis Group found that despite a peace treaty being signed in 2017, the group is still very much active. It has a presence in 16% of the country's municipalities and controls sizable swathes of territory on the border and in the interior, through which it smuggles drugs.