Cocaine smuggling submarine reveals Europe's drug crisis

I'm astir to ascent into the archetypal "narco-sub" known to person brought cocaine from South America to Europe.

It's 20 metres long, c fibre and - remarkably - homemade.

After clambering connected top, I assistance up the wonky manhole screen and descend into the hull wherever 3 men survived for 27 agelong days and nights, arsenic they voyaged crossed the Atlantic Ocean conscionable nether the aboveground of the crashing waves.

It's cramped, claustrophobic and incredibly primitive.

The sunlight tries to creep successful from faint cracks successful the walls. There's a reddish steering wheel, a mates of basal dials and a rusted cardinal inactive wedged successful the ignition.

You tin recognize wherefore 1 prospective skipper took 1 look astatine the vas and concluded it was a decease trap.

The vigor and sound would person been aggravated arsenic the motor successful the backmost of the sub burned done the 20,000 litres of substance stored onboard.

The unit of 2 Ecuadorian cousins and a erstwhile Spanish boxer acceptable retired from the Brazilian rainforest and archetypal travelled on the Amazon river.

They had vigor bars, cans of sardines and integrative bags they utilized for toilet facilities.

That was astir each they had. Apart, of course, from 3 tonnes of cocaine worthy much than $150m (£121m).

But this was not a lucrative, covert ngo neatly accomplished.

The sub's travel successful precocious 2019 had been tracked by instrumentality enforcement agencies, including the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA).

After scuttling their vas adjacent the seashore of Galicia, having ran into problems, the men were arrested and jailed.

This portion of past successful the combat against planetary cause trafficking is present a trophy successful the car parkland of the Spanish constabulary academy successful Ávila.

However, it's not a rotting relic of a bygone battle: it's a awesome of a secretly increasing phenomenon.

Just past month, different sub was discovered disconnected the Spanish seashore - again successful the Galicia region.

"For much than 20 years traffickers person been utilizing submarines to scope Africa and Europe, but these 2 are the archetypal we've seized," explains Antonio Martinez Duarte, Chief Commissioner of the Narco Brigade successful the Spanish National Police.

"They are precise hard to detect," helium admits.

In fact, it's thought hundreds of homemade submarines person been launched towards Europe, which is the biggest cocaine marketplace aft the US, and 1 that's increasing rapidly aft a Covid pandemic slump.

It's adjacent said that successful the mediate of the Atlantic, astir the Canary Islands and the Azores, determination lies a wide graveyard of cocaine submarines, deliberately sunk aft their cargo had been successfully unloaded.

Each covert ngo would person been a immense triumph for the teams of mechanics softly constructing their crafts successful the depths of the South American jungle, mostly successful Guyana and Suriname.

Here though, successful Spain today, arsenic portion of the planetary trafficking war, it's the constabulary trumpeting a large triumph astatine their office successful Madrid.

"This is simply a precise important operation," says Chief Commissioner Duarte. "It's the archetypal clip successful Europe that we recovered arsenic overmuch arsenic 1 and a fractional tonnes of basal cocaine paste."

In fact, officers accidental it was the biggest laboratory turning earthy coca paste into cocaine that they've recovered connected the continent. But it's not conscionable the size of the haul which is significant.

"This cognition besides confirms the links betwixt Columbian and Mexicans criminals that person joined Spanish gangs moving successful Spain," Chief Commissioner Duarte says.

Clearly arrogant of their work, the constabulary person transported the contents of the laboratory into a property league country to amusement section journalists.

The stench of the earthy coca paste - similar that of vinegar - hangs successful the air.

The drugs-making process has been replicated, with barrels of chemicals, a microwave, a hydraulic property and scales - reflecting the travel from paste to last product.

On a array astatine the acold extremity of the country are dozens of brownish parcels, each the size of a location brick, emblazoned with a Superman logo - the awesome chosen by the traffickers who nary uncertainty felt a consciousness of invincibility.

An serviceman leans implicit and whispers that importers wage betwixt €27-32,000 ($30-35,000; £24-28,000) for each parcel. They past astatine slightest treble their wealth erstwhile they merchantability it connected the streets.

The lone bounds connected their profits is to what grade they dilute their cause with cutting agents, ranging from anaesthesia (which mimic carnal sensations associated with cocaine, specified arsenic numbing of the mouth) to cheaper options similar caffeine and glucose. But there's besides different options, including de-worming medicine, usually utilized by vets.

This laboratory dismantled successful the metropolis of Pontevedra successful the Galicia portion was susceptible of producing 200 kilos a time with a purity of 95%, according to the police.

Along with the submarines, the laboratory is simply a glimpse into a narco-world which is expanding rapidly.

The United Nations cause bureau says cocaine accumulation accrued by a 3rd betwixt 2020 and 2021, which was a grounds precocious and the biggest year-to-year summation since 2016.

One spot they're witnessing first-hand the surge successful proviso of the cause is astatine the larboard of Antwerp successful Belgium.

In 2022 they seized a grounds 110 tonnes of cocaine - truthful overmuch that they didn't person capable incinerators to destruct it accelerated enough.

By immoderate estimates, lone 10% of the cocaine arriving astatine the larboard is intercepted with the remainder going to the Netherlands for organisation to each corners of Europe, including the UK.

The caput of customs astatine the larboard told me, with this tsunami of coke, they volition ne'er triumph the battle.

And this is simply a combat that has spilled implicit into execution connected the streets of Antwerp. In January, an 11-year-old miss was killed successful a pack shooting linked to the cocaine commercialized successful the city.

Belgium's Justice curate Vincent Van Quickenborne has been surviving successful and retired of a harmless location for the past twelvemonth aft constabulary uncovered an alleged crippled by Dutch criminals to kidnap him. A car containing firearms was discovered extracurricular his house.

For 1 of Belgium's apical investigative judges, Michel Claise, the cocaine manufacture has spiralled retired of control.

"It makes an implicit luck for those we telephone narco-traffickers," helium says, erstwhile we conscionable adjacent the tremendous Palais de Justice successful the capital, Brussels.

Claise says with their wealthiness and power the gangs are present dwarfing those seeking to present justice.

"With wealth laundering and corruption - which is present limitless successful presumption of the sums that tin beryllium offered to dockers, constabulary officers and different radical - however bash you privation america to person immoderate power connected transgression organisations?

"It's over," helium concludes.

Belgium's cocaine situation is Europe's cocaine crisis, and the UN is present informing rival planetary gangs are moving unneurotic similar ne'er before.

It says aft their occurrence connected this continent, they'll soon beryllium branching retired into Asia and Africa successful their pursuit of unlimited riches.

Additional reporting by Bruno Boelpaep

You tin ticker "Cocaine: Flooding Europe" connected BBC iPlayer shortly, if you are successful the UK, and connected BBC News this weekend