Record drug haul seized as smugglers' new route is found

Colombian authorities working with dozens of other countries have seized 225 tonnes of cocaine in the space of six weeks, a global record for any single anti-narcotics operation, finding some of that haul on a "narco submarine" travelling on a new drug trafficking route to Australia.

- Luke Taylor

In the six-week Operation Orion, law enforcement agencies and other organisations from 62 countries halted six semi-submersible vessels stuffed with cocaine and confiscated 1,400 tonnes of drugs in total, including more than 1,000 tonnes of marijuana.

The interception of 225 tonnes of cocaine marks a significant dent in the operations of Latin America's cartels given that the UN estimates 2,700 tonnes are produced globally each year and Colombia's record for annual seizures was the 671 tonnes confiscated in 2022.

"This is an important chunk of the cocaine trade, even when you consider the high amounts of the drug leaving the region," said Capt Manuel Rodríguez, director of the Colombian navy's anti-narcotics unit. "This will prevent thousands of deaths from overdoses and $8.5bn from reaching the cartels, which definitely makes a hole in the profits of these criminal organisations."