The first known ‘narco-sub’ seized in Europe is now displayed in Spain’s police academy.

A 22-metre-long semi-submersible that was captured off the Spanish coast in 2019 carrying three tonnes of cocaine is now displayed at Spain’s police academy near Madrid. Source: Channel 4

The 22-metre semi-submersible was piloted by Agustin Alvarez, a former Spanish amateur boxing champion. Two other crew members were his cousins from Ecuador. The three men were sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2022.

The ‘sub’ — most of it sat just below the water, making it very hard to detect — was designed for one-time use in this illegal mission. The plan was that once the drugs arrived and were unloaded onto fishing boats, the crew would open special valves to sink the vessel.

Chase at sea

“Our big obsession day to day is to know everything that is in our waters,” Galicia’s customs chief Fernando Iglesias said.

Head of Galicia’s customs Fernando Iglesias says his team has to deal with increasingly inventive drug smuggling operations at sea. Source: Channel 4

But even with helicopters and speedboats, Iglesias’ team is not equipped for long chases.

The drug smuggler

“Only about 5 per cent stays [in Spain],” he said. “The rest goes wherever there is demand. All over Europe basically.”

A local drug smuggler says semi-submersibles loaded with drugs have been arriving in Galicia since the late 1990s. Source: Channel 4

In his 50s, Luis has been in the cocaine smuggling business with Mexican and Colombian drug cartels for a decade. He operates the speedboats but now also invests in narco-subs and takes a large cut of the profits.

The Spanish police did not respond to his allegations of corruption.

Deadly consequences

Not only does Spain have one of the highest cocaine consumption rates in the world, but it also has one of the highest youth unemployment rates in the European Union. Lack of job opportunities adds to the lure of drug dealing.

Galician man Santiago De Dios shows a photo of his son Ismael, who went missing while transporting drugs from Colombia to Spain. Source: Channel 4

For two years, local man Santiago De Dios has been trying to find out what happened to his son Ismael who disappeared while sailing a boat with four tonnes of cocaine from Colombia to Galicia.

“Or there was an accident during the dangerous Atlantic crossing.”