Drug submarine found in Colombia

Police say the workmanship is of high quality

Police in Colombia say they have found a half-built submarine in a warehouse in a suburb of the capital Bogota.

Police chief General Luis Ernesto Gilibert said Russian documents were found alongside the partially-completed vessel.

This is huge - we're talking about being able to load up to 200 tonnes of cocaine in this submarine

US Drug Enforcement Agency

He said the 30 metre (100ft) vessel would have been capable of carrying huge quantities of cocaine or heroin.

He speculated that, once completed, the submarine would have been disassembled and taken by lorry to to Colombia's Pacific or Caribbean coast.

When police raided the warehouse in the suburb of Facatativa they found the building equipped with closed-circuit cameras but devoid of people.

High quality

Instead there was the startling sight of a sophisticated submarine under construction.

"It was between 30% and 40% complete and had its engine room ready," General Gilibert said.

"The technology is advanced and the workmanship of high quality."

The sub was nearly half complete

The Russian documents at the site led police to speculate that the Russian mafia or Russian technicians were involved in its construction.

Bogota is landlocked and lies 2,250 metres (7,500 ft) above sea level, but is a source of high-quality building materials - which may explain why it was chosen as a submarine boatyard.

Submarines have been used by Columbian drug smugglers before - in 1997 two mini-subs were seized off the Caribbean port of Santa Marta.

Huge

But this submarine is a much bigger vessel.

"In 32 years I've never seen anything like this," said Leo Arreguin, the US Drug Enforcement Administration director in Colombia.

"This is huge. We're talking about being able to load up to 200 tonnes of cocaine in this submarine."

Mr Arreguin said documents discovered at the site showed that two Americans may also have been involved, but did not elaborate.