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  • Das Boot

    The Mexican navy says it has seized nearly six tonnes of cocaine found inside a 10m-long (31ft) makeshift submarine in the Pacific Ocean.

    A naval spokesman said they had known about such submarines but this was the first time they had seen one. US intelligence helped in the operation.

    Four Colombian crew members have been taken into custody.

    In a separate development Mexico's army seized at least 12 tonnes of marijuana in the city of Tijuana.

    The haul is the largest since President Felipe Calderon sent thousands of troops to the region along the border with the US.

    US help

    The submarine had been carrying its cargo from Colombia towards the coast of Mexico when it was intercepted on Wednesday. It took the navy two days to tow it to shore.

    Packages believed to contain cocaine
    The cocaine was inside sealed packages on board the sub
    The US Homeland Security Secretary, Michael Chertoff, revealed on Friday that US intelligence had led Mexican forces to the submarine.

    "We shared information with the Mexican navy, but the Mexican navy acted alone. It was actually their seizure, their marines, their helicopters and naval vessels that captured the submarine," Mr Chertoff said on a visit to Mexico City.

    Mexican Vice-Admiral Jose Maria Ortegon Cisneros said that the drugs were in 257 packages wrapped in black plastic.

    He said that the submarine was equipped with a global positioning system (GPS) and a compass.

    "This is going to force us to intensify our aerial surveillance, because the freeboard (distance from the deck to the water) of this sub is not detected by radars or any type of electronic detection device," he told reporters in Salina Cruz in the state of Oaxaca.

    "Four people were detained. Based on their statements they say they left from Colombia. They did not specify from what port. Three of them are from Buenaventura and the other from a town in the centre of Colombia."

    He added that the navy had stepped up patrols in the area where the sub was seized.

    The crew claimed to be fishermen forced by drug cartels to move the cargo, said Vice Admiral Cisneros. They said they had sailed from Colombia about a week ago.

    'Symbolic' victory

    Meanwhile, the 12 tonnes of marijuana seized in the border city of Tijuana was the single biggest haul of the drug since President Felipe Calderon sent more than 25,000 troops to the region last year to tackle trafficking.

    Officials said that about three tonnes of the drug were found in a stolen car on Thursday while the rest was discovered on Friday.

    So far in 2008 the Mexican army says it has confiscated more than 500 tonnes of marijuana in the state of Baja California alone.

    Mr Calderon came to power in 2007 promising to rid Mexico of organised and drug-related crime.

    But the BBC's Americas editor, Emilio San Pedro, says that despite celebrations at the military barracks in Tijuana, this seizure - no matter how large - is mostly a symbolic victory as it is far from a death blow to the cartel bosses.

    Authorities say the traffickers are extremely organised and far from willing to give up their lucrative enterprise, which earns them tens of millions of dollars every year.
    BBC, News, BBC News, news online, world, uk, international, foreign, british, online, service

    (also a vid there)

    "Submarine" sounds a bit exaggerated though since the vessel can only go "semi-submerged" so the deck is still above the waterline. Still, as the article says, it's hard to detect by common means. Gotta give them drug dealers bonus points for creativity.
    Blah

  • #2
    Wow, there was WW2 Soviet submarine found on Finnish waters last week. We're so negligible that i couldn't even find news in english about that.

    Comment


    • #3
      U-96

      One of the greatest movies/series ever made was about it. Just be sure to get the German version.

      Comment


      • #4
        Nah, U-571 is the best Submarine movie ever!!!
        Is it me, or is MOBIUS a horrible person?

        Comment


        • #5
          -Das ist Thomsen!!

          Comment


          • #6


            They should add one of these on to their subs.



            If the US Air Force is using heat sensors to locate these subs then putting them 10-15 feet under water would help mask that heat signature. Also the snorkel would allow the boat to stay submerged the entire trip (except for the snorkel itself) though maybe this would slow the ship down to much.
            Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.

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            • #7
              They really should be trying to make a small diesel-electric submarine like the German type 206 though large quantities of nonmagnetic steel would probably be hard to come by in Columbia though maybe the Russian mob could help and they can label it as imported Russia steel. Maybe the fiberglass design wasn't just cheaper but also helped against detection using a magnetic anomaly detector?

              Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.

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              • #8
                U-235.
                One day Canada will rule the world, and then we'll all be sorry.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Oh, even better! Buy a bunch of those Honda hydrogen fuel cell cars and then cannibalize them for the fuel cells. Build a carbon fiber (or nonmetalic metal if you can find enough) submarine powered primarily by the hydrogen fuel cells with a small back up diesel engine. The fuel cell would allow the sub to be submerged for weeks on end without any heat signature plus no moving parts so it would be very quiet.

                  The Germans have even built fuel cell powered subs which are now in service in their navy.

                  Worldwide News Leader in Fuel Cells, Energy and Hydrogen. We keep you updated with the latest industry developments, information, and trends.
                  Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Or stop trying to build your own and instead buy a well built used diesel sub and retro fit it with fuel cells for that it could remain submerged for weeks. As a bonus this ex-military sub comes complete with CO2 scrubbers and can be yours for just half a million dollars.

                    Bluehost - Top rated web hosting provider - Free 1 click installs For blogs, shopping carts, and more. Get a free domain name, real NON-outsourced 24/7 support, and superior speed. web hosting provider php hosting cheap web hosting, Web hosting, domain names, front page hosting, email hosting. We offer affordable hosting, web hosting provider business web hosting, ecommerce hosting, unix hosting. Phone support available, Free Domain, and Free Setup.
                    Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.

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                    • #11
                      I think a non-state actor buying a sub would raise a few reg flags. It's not like it is very easy to deliver such an item without it being followed.
                      If you don't like reality, change it! me
                      "Oh no! I am bested!" Drake
                      "it is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong" Voltaire
                      "Patriotism is a pernecious, psychopathic form of idiocy" George Bernard Shaw

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Dauphin
                        U-235.
                        Blah

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Oerdin
                          Oh, even better! Buy a bunch of those Honda hydrogen fuel cell cars and then cannibalize them for the fuel cells. Build a carbon fiber (or nonmetalic metal if you can find enough) submarine powered primarily by the hydrogen fuel cells with a small back up diesel engine. The fuel cell would allow the sub to be submerged for weeks on end without any heat signature plus no moving parts so it would be very quiet.
                          Now, could you just stop giving ideas to all the Apolyton based supervillains-in-the-making!

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            U-2
                            THEY!!111 OMG WTF LOL LET DA NOMADS AND TEH S3D3NTARY PEOPLA BOTH MAEK BITER AXP3REINCES
                            AND TEH GRAAT SINS OF THERE [DOCTRINAL] INOVATIONS BQU3ATH3D SMAL
                            AND!!1!11!!! LOL JUST IN CAES A DISPUTANT CALS U 2 DISPUT3 ABOUT THEYRE CLAMES
                            DO NOT THAN DISPUT3 ON THEM 3XCAPT BY WAY OF AN 3XTARNAL DISPUTA!!!!11!! WTF

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              There are millions of Dollars involved in Drug trafficking.
                              Why don´t these drug barons just invest part of it into engineers who make them plans for a real sub that goes totally submerged and build it?
                              It isn´t exact rocket science
                              Tamsin (Lost Girl): "I am the Harbinger of Death. I arrive on winds of blessed air. Air that you no longer deserve."
                              Tamsin (Lost Girl): "He has fallen in battle and I must take him to the Einherjar in Valhalla"

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