From a jungle shipyard in La Loma, Ecuador, anti-narcotics officers have seized a submarine being prepared by drug runners to transport tonnes of cocaine between countries.
The 33-metre-long diesel and electric-powered vessel was built in a remote jungle in Ecuador near the country's border with Colombia and covered with camouflage.
Teams from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration led the operation before the submarine could be taken on its maiden voyage on a nearby river.
Experts found it equipped with a conning tower, periscope and air-conditioning system and capable of ocean-going voyages.
The discovery of the homemade submarine – one of the biggest of its kind – was considered to be a worrying development for agencies tackling the global cocaine trade that is centred in South America.
This development in drug running is not new. In July 2008, Mexico's navy seized a homemade submarine carrying a drug shipment off the Pacific coast.
Source: AP, The Times