BREAKING NEWS! MUSK'S NEW HAVEN OF DRUG CARTELS?

The Colombian navy has intercepted an unprecedented naval vessel off the country’s Caribbean coast. It was a gray, unmanned narco-submarine, most strikingly, its Starlink antenna.

No drugs were found in the vehicle. But both naval officials and Western security sources working in the region agree that this was a test drive. In other words, it was testing how well the system worked rather than transporting drugs.

NO CREW ON BOAT

Colombia has been a center of cocaine production for years. Semi-submerged submarines built in secret shipyards in the jungle transport the drug north to markets as far away as Central America, Mexico and even Australia.

But now the landscape is changing. These boats are no longer crewed, and are now being replaced by remotely piloted, low-profile, radar-stealthy drones, which allow cartels to leave fewer tracks and operate more safely.

The Starlink antenna on the captured vehicle shows how Elon Musk's space internet project could become a smuggling tool, technology experts told AFP.

HE WAS CARRYING DRUGS WORTH $4.25 BILLION

This is not the first example. Another boat, also using Starlink, was seized off the coast of India in November 2023 and was carrying $ 4.25 billion worth of methamphetamine.

According to the Colombian navy, this unmanned submarine was designed by the Gulf Clan, the country's largest drug organization. The vehicle's capacity was large enough to carry about 1.5 tons of cocaine.

'NO CREW TO TALK TO'

In the images shared with the press, a small, gray and rather plain looking vehicle draws attention. However, there was no living creature inside. It was just a machine locked on to a target.

According to Henry Shuldiner, a researcher at the US-based InSight Crime think tank, these tools actually eliminate a major risk for cartels : they prevent captured crews from talking.

'MACHINES, NOT CRIMINALS, ARE BEING CAUGHT'

"Now, it's not the criminals who are caught, just the machines," Shuldiner says. Moreover, these systems can largely evade radar tracking.

The United Nations announced that cocaine production and seizure rates worldwide will reach record levels in 2023. As demand increases, methods are changing.

Numerous narco-submarines were stopped in both the Atlantic and Pacific throughout the year. Last November, a semi-submerged boat bound for Australia was found carrying five tons of cocaine.

'ENGINEERS WORKING WITH CARTELS'

Colombian law provides for up to 14 years in prison for building, transporting or using such vehicles, but as they become more unmanned, catching the masterminds behind them is becoming increasingly difficult, according to security experts.

According to Colombian researcher Juana Cabezas, engineers working with Mexican cartels are behind these vehicles, and the idea of ​​an unmanned submarine is thought to date back to 2017.