The Colombian Navy has reported the seizure of 2,643 kilograms of cocaine aboard a submarine.
The lifeless bodies of two people were also discovered in the submarine, and two others were found unconscious.
The submarine was transporting the drugs through Pacific waters toward Central America when it suffered a mechanical failure in its fuel system that released toxic gases.
Two crew members could climb onto the hull and were rescued by the Navy and taken to a ship for first aid.
“After locating the illegal device, two people were spotted on board, and first aid was administered,” said Frigate Captain Cristian Andrés Guzmán, commander of the Navy’s Anti-Drug Task Force.
During the inspection, two bodies were found, along with the drug shipment brought to the coast of Tumaco in Nariño.
The cocaine (six million doses) had a street value of US$87 million.
The Colombian Armed Forces had also reported on Sunday (12) that three semi-submersible boats used by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas to transport four to six tonnes of cocaine hydrochloride each had been located.
The devices are believed to belong to the FARC dissident groups “Segunda Marquetalia” and “Comando Coordinador de Occidente,” which operate in the department of Nariño in Colombia’s Pacific Ocean.