The Costa da Morte has once again become the scene of an operation linked to international drug trafficking. A narco-submarine about 20 meters long appeared adrift this Wednesday in the Camariñas estuary, near A Punta da Barca, in front of the town of Muxía. The discovery was reported by a fisherman, who came across the semi-sunken boat while fishing. The device, with the hatch open and no signs of cargo or crew, would have fulfilled its objective: transport from some point in Latin America a stash of about four tons of cocaine to Galicia.
The first hypotheses suggest that the narco-submarine was heading to Camariñas. “Due to some problem, They had to leave the merchandise in Muxía“, explains Javier Sar, mayor of this town, to 20 minutes. A glider went out to meet the semi-submersible, which was two miles off the coast of Muxía, to collect the drugs. The crew opened the bottom valves (designed to sink a vessel quickly) to make the submarine disappear, the only evidence of this operation. But something went wrong and a part remained floating.
The glider that picked up the drugs and the crew reached the coast undetected, possibly on Wednesday night. The unloading scene was Os Muiños beachwhere some tire tracks were found in the sand, which could be from tractors that carried a large amount of weight, due to their depth. “These marks start very close to the shore and they reach the exit of the sandy area, where the road,” says the councilor, who points out that they could be one of the vehicles used by drug traffickers to collect drugs.
Failure in towing tasks
After the discovery, The authorities deployed an operation to tow the narco-submarine to the port of Camariñas. However, the structure of the boat broke during the transfer, partially sinking. Only the bow remained visible. A specialized company and several divers worked this Thursday to refloat the hull, where information on the origin and manufacturer is found, which could also shed light on those possibly responsible for the transport.
However, the transfer also suffered “great difficulties” due to the “constant breakage” of the chain used, according to the Civil Guard. The tug ‘Sebastián de Ocampo’, from Gardacostas de Galicia, moved to the point and tried to move the bow to the tug. During the operation, the air bubble in the bow was lost (that’s why it floated) and water entered the hull. Finally, It sank about 500 meters from the port of Camariñas.
The characteristics of the submersible are similar to the boats used to transport drugs, as stated by the Government’s deputy delegate in A Coruña, María Rivas. For now, the investigation remains open. If confirmed, this would be the third narco-submarine found in Galician waters, after the cases registered in the Aldán estuary in 2019 and in the Arousa estuary in 2023. “We are tired of these types of events“, acknowledges the mayor of Muxía.
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