U.S. drug operation targets cocaine-carrying submarines

Canada.com -

More than 50 members of Colombia's "Bandas Criminales" drug gangs have been indicted on U.S. charges they used planes or custom-built submarines to traffic tons of cocaine, U.S. and Colombian officials said Friday.

The roundup of dozens of suspects is seen as the most important bust yet by a U.S. team — co-operating closely with Colombian authorities — set up in February to smash the narcotics network that has gained notoriety for its unconventional underwater trafficking from South America to the United States.

In announcing the indictments of 56 traffickers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Wifredo Ferrer spoke of the "proactive strategy" that allowed U.S. and Colombian authorities to hone in on the "Bandas Criminales."

"Our common goal is simple: target the BACRIM leadership, dismantle their narco-trafficking operations, and eliminate the threat they pose to the security of the region and the international community," Ferrer said.

Two separate operations were conducted. In Operation Under the Sea, 22 people were charged for what the U.S. Department of Justice described as "participation in a drug trafficking organization that built and used fully submersible and semi-submersible submarines to transport cocaine from Colombia to Central America, with the ultimate destination being the United States."

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