Drug traffickers have found a great ally in technology. More and more of them are using it to outwit security forces and transport drugs more efficiently. Technological advances are facilitating their illegal activity. In addition, they are able to stay one step ahead of the authorities trying to intercept them.
Criminal organizations are applying technological progress in several ways. One of them is to use it to perfect the vehicles they use to transport their cargo or overpower their rivals.
Maritime transport, the best way to transport large volumes of drugs
Maritime transport is the most efficient way to transport large volumes of drugs. Drug traffickers know this even though security forces are able to intercept the shipments on some occasions.
A few days ago, the Air and Marine Operations (AMO) division of the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) captured a self-propelled semi-submersible loaded with nearly 4 tons of cocaine in the Gulf of Mexico. Said shipment had a market value of some $108 million. In the operation, border agents arrested five people.
#ICYMI - Last month while conducting bilateral operations, a @CBPAMO aircrew spoiled efforts to traffic more than 8,200lbs of cocaine across open waters southwest of Mexico. The narcotics are valued at over $108M.
More details ➡️ https://t.co/mEKbWjyz6s pic.twitter.com/21keud4SLO
— CBP (@CBP) July 29, 2023
Semi-submersibles
Drug traffickers take advantage of uninhabitable places in the jungle to establish their command posts. It is there where they build small shipyards to manufacture semi-submersibles, always with the help of naval engineers.
Most narco-submersibles are made of fiberglass and wood, two fairly light materials. The color usually resembles that of the water, and the part of the vessels that protrudes above the water is very small, making them difficult for authorities to detect.
In general, drug traffickers divide the area in these vessels as follows: the bow (front part) is for storing the drug cargo; in the middle is the cockpit; and the stern (rear part) houses the machinery, such as engines or exhaust pipes.
Drones: A means of transport... and attack
Drug traffickers are not only using the new technologies to transport drugs. They are also using them to go on the offensive. That is where the skies come into play, with one form of technology reigning supreme: drones.
On several occasions, there have been reports of drug trafficking groups using drones to attack rival groups. For example, the Jalisco Cartel - New Generation (CJNG) attacked other criminal organizations they considered enemies with high-tech weaponized drones, as we can see in this video from the Mexican outlet Milenio.
The United States wants to counter the threat posed by cartels with drones. The governor of Florida and candidate to the Republican primaries, Ron DeSantis, suggested using them as a method to defend the country.
"Narco-tanks" or "rhinos"
By land, drug traffickers are also developing powerful means of transportation. Specifically, they modify pickup trucks with different tools such as battering rams and steel plates and equip them with heavy weaponry to fight rival criminal groups or to confront security forces.
The inside of these vehicles is reinforced with metal seats with stabilizers so that drug traffickers can support weapons and have greater precision. They also have a wide variety of buttons and controls.
In Mexico, law enforcement authorities call these modified trucks “rhinos” or “narco-tanks,” according to a report by The New York Times.
