Pubdate: Tue, 21 Nov 2006 Source: Herald, The (UK) Copyright: 2006 The Herald Contact: http://www.theherald.co.uk/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/189 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) HOME-MADE SUBMARINE HELD TONS OF COCAINE THE sight of three PVC pipes skimming the ocean's surface off the Pacific coast tipped off authorities in Costa Rica, who have seized a home-made submarine packed with three tons of cocaine. Four men were arrested after they were found travelling inside the 49ft wood and fibreglass craft, breathing through the pipes. The submarine was spotted oon Friday 103 miles off Costa Rica's coast near Cabo Blanco National Park on the Nicoya peninsula, said Security Minister Fernando Berrocal. It moved at about 7mph and was about 6ft below the surface. "This is the first time in the country's history that a craft with these characteristics has been caught near the national coasts," Berrocal said. US Coast Guard, US Drug Enforcement Administration agents, FBI and Colombian officials aided Costa Rican authorities in the operation. Two Colombians, a Guatemalan and a Sri Lankan man were arrested and taken to the United States since they were captured in international waters, Berrocal said. Officials took the submarine to a Coast Guard station and were trying to determine its origin. It was found with several tanks of fuel, but Costa Rican authorities said the makeshift vessel, which had a bailer to keep out water, was unlikely to have travelled any great distance. In March, the Colombian navy seized a 60ft-long, fibreglass submarine that likely was used to haul tons of cocaine out to speedboats in the Pacific Ocean headed for Central America and on to the United States. Three people were arrested and two speedboats seized during the operation, but no narcotics were found. Colombian authorities say smuggling cocaine by sea has become the top method of transport in recent years, as radar systems have made it extremely difficult to smuggle drugs in small airplanes without being detected. So far this year, Costa Rican authorities have seized 18 tons of cocaine. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake