Narco-sub carrying 1.7 tonnes of cocaine seized in Atlantic
6 comments
·November 4, 2025gooseus
kamikazeturtles
> Having seized the vessel, the navy said it could not be towed back to shore due to poor weather and its fragile construction, and it later sank in the open sea.
Well, they did sink the submarine
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"In addition to the participation of the Portuguese Navy and Judicial Police, the operation was supported by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Joint Inter-Agency Task Force – South (JIATF-S), and the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA), working together within the scope of MAOC-N."
from the linked press release, I'm assuming DEA tipped off the Euro agencies that the sub was headed their way
kamikazeturtles
It's probably very expensive patrolling waters 1000 nautical miles from your shores.
What incentive does Portuguese authorities have to do this, especially considering the cocaine would've likely just been shipped off to buyers in other parts of the EU and not affect Portugal as much
potato3732842
That's like saying "thousands of miles from California" when something is a few miles from Hawaii.
The article kind of buries it but it was intercepted near the Azores, which are Portuguese territory and policed accordingly. They weren't patrolling in the middle of nowhere.
Also they probably got spotted by drone or something before the surface vessels got sent in to check it out.
By Portuguese authorities, not US.
Which is why the title says "seized", and not "torpedoed".