Explain cocaine subs to me

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henrybowman
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Re: Explain cocaine subs to me

Post by henrybowman »

arctictom wrote:Ummm its a two fold answer, first is the towed submersable that is cut loose when the game is afoot, and it has a timed release buoy for recovery. And rumor has it that some drug dealers are using surplus RU subs with prearanged buy points.
Why dont they just have the drug subs travel under a large cargo ship? I mean would there be any way to detect them?

I am writing a book on the subject, any info would be helpful...
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blackeagle603
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Re: Explain cocaine subs to me

Post by blackeagle603 »

Yup, I think the drug subs are mostly moving littoral waters and that's a MAD problem not a SOSUS solution.
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Aglifter
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Re: Explain cocaine subs to me

Post by Aglifter »

A) I don't think they actually submerge that well.

B) A vessel that size is displacing a LARGE amount of water - I don't know that a crude craft would be able to stay in such a position.

C) I think it might be easier to try to build a very quiet drive system - thinking about it, I can see how, if you aren't that concerned about speed, and you'll spend the time and money, you could come up w. a very quiet diesel electric system, which would disappear in the noise.
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Jered
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Re: Explain cocaine subs to me

Post by Jered »

henrybowman wrote:
arctictom wrote:Ummm its a two fold answer, first is the towed submersable that is cut loose when the game is afoot, and it has a timed release buoy for recovery. And rumor has it that some drug dealers are using surplus RU subs with prearanged buy points.
Why dont they just have the drug subs travel under a large cargo ship? I mean would there be any way to detect them?

I am writing a book on the subject, any info would be helpful...
Probably not.

Typically, customs inspectors look at the containers that are coming off the ships, not subs under ships.

It's probably easier to put your stuff on a boat, drop a dinghy, and row it ashore without bothering to clear customs.
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308Mike
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Re: Explain cocaine subs to me

Post by 308Mike »

henrybowman wrote:
arctictom wrote:Ummm its a two fold answer, first is the towed submersable that is cut loose when the game is afoot, and it has a timed release buoy for recovery. And rumor has it that some drug dealers are using surplus RU subs with prearanged buy points.
Why dont they just have the drug subs travel under a large cargo ship? I mean would there be any way to detect them?

I am writing a book on the subject, any info would be helpful...
Which various militaries have done so before (sneaking out of in under large surface vessels), including the US, UK, German, and other submarine forces. It's a time-honored tactic and difficult to guard against. It's quite easy to be disguised by a much larger and nosier surface ship when you're a much smaller and quieter submarine. It's something many ports try to guard against, but in which few succeed in catching those spying in their waters, unless you also use submarine nets, active ping devices on a regular basis, etc., etc.

Take a look at just how big even the Japanese two-man submarines were during WWII, and consider just how much drugs they could be carrying instead of their torpedoes. Even so, they were still quite large in size, with relative little capability. Granted, MANY things have gotten smaller, more accurate, computers more powerful, etc., etc. Even so, anyone fielding a submarine in today's world, and not wanting to spend MILLIONS on it, would still be pretty limited in range, depth, and capacity, and they would still have to face potential ASW forces looking for foreign intrusions. An unidentified submarine coming into US waters might be perceived as a National Security threat and once no response was received, simply taken out, questions asked later.
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Termite
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Re: Explain cocaine subs to me

Post by Termite »

Jered wrote:It's probably easier to put your stuff on a boat, drop a dinghy, and row it ashore without bothering to clear customs.
It's even easier to have a east Texas/Louisiana/Mississippi/Alabama shrimper meet your cargo ship at 150-200 miles out, and offload to the shrimp boat.
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mekender
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Re: Explain cocaine subs to me

Post by mekender »

Keep in mind that VAST portions of south Florida are basically wasteland... It has been pretty well known for decades that you can land just about anywhere down there and so long as you dont get caught coming in, you are home free.

Growing up in FL, we always heard stories... Planes landing on roads... Planes landing at night on small rural airfields that are not manned at night... Planes dropping cargo into swamps, on the beach or out in the water near the 3 mile marker and someone picking them up.
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PawPaw
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Re: Explain cocaine subs to me

Post by PawPaw »

Another alternative is the cruise ships that criss-cross the Gulf and Carib. One buddy of mine was on a cruise with his wife and were in-bound for New Orleans. The ship was stopped at the mouth of the Mississippi by the Coast Guard and divers were put overboard. According to my buddy, the Coasties found several PVC containers that had been glued to the hull of the ship, evidently marked for retrieval after the cruise ship docked.
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SoupOrMan
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Re: Explain cocaine subs to me

Post by SoupOrMan »

Dub_James wrote:
I thought this thread would be about sandwiches...
Me too. Weird sandwiches, but sandwiches nonetheless.
Underwater drug-filled sandwiches? I've heard of weirder.
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henrybowman
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Re: Explain cocaine subs to me

Post by henrybowman »

Aglifter wrote:A) I don't think they actually submerge that well.

B) A vessel that size is displacing a LARGE amount of water - I don't know that a crude craft would be able to stay in such a position.

C) I think it might be easier to try to build a very quiet drive system - thinking about it, I can see how, if you aren't that concerned about speed, and you'll spend the time and money, you could come up w. a very quiet diesel electric system, which would disappear in the noise.
true time maybe money, but then again if you build a top of line coke sub for $10,000,000 fill it with about $900,000,000 in pure coke it will pay for it`s self in just one run, not to add the amount of money you will make if/when you cut down the product.
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