Colombian Navy intercepts largest cartel-manufactured cocaine submarine in its history

The Colombian Navy has intercepted the largest cartel-manufactured cocaine submarine since records began.

The semi-submersible vessel was three metres wide and 30 metres long and was stopped on its way to Central America.

It was picked up by radar technology as it was crossing the Pacific Ocean and the Colombian Air Force was summoned to track it as it sailed closer.

Their intercept operation actually managed to save the lives of those on board.

According to RT, the submarine had developed a leak and had been taking on water as it got close to Colombia.

Authorities arrested the three crewmen, who might not have survived if they hadn't intercepted them.

The 45, 54 and 63-year-old are all Colombian and the Navy believes they were 'forced by a drug trafficking organization' to take the vessel to Central America, according to CBS.

They found more than 3,000kg of cocaine onboard, which amounted to a little more than $100 million worth of the white stuff.

The vessel is roughly the same size as an Iranian Ghadir-class attack submarine and Colombian officials say it's the largest narco-sub 'seized since the first such device was discovered in 1993'.

This is the fourth narco sub to be intercepted by Colombian authorities this year.

They have stopped more than 220 in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans over the past three decades, according to CBS.

While it might have been a record-breaking discovery for Colombia, it's far from the largest haul of cocaine discovered in one batch.

Back in 2017, more than 12 tonnes of the illegal substance was seized in the country.

It had a US street value of more than $360 million and the haul was discovered underground on four farms near Colombia's border with Panama.

However, that is child's play compared to the seizure that happened in the US back in 2019.

Federal officers discovered 16.5 tonnes worth of cocaine from a shipping port in Philadelphia, which had a street value of more than $1.1 billion.

Casey Durst, director of field operations in the US Customs and Border Protection Baltimore field office, said if the 15,000 bricks of cocaine were lined up, they would stretch to two and a half miles.

Agents were inspecting containers aboard the MSC Gayane, which was flying a Liberian flag, when they discovered cocaine on the ship bound for Europe.

Shipping records reveal the MSC Gayane also made stops in Peru, Panama and the Bahamas before making its way to the US, as reported by ABC News.