Drug submarine seized by police in Ecuador

5 July 2010 Last updated at 08:10 ET Help

A submarine built by drug-traffickers has been found in Ecuador before its maiden voyage.

The 31m (100 ft) vessel, capable of carrying 10-12 tonnes of cocaine, was discovered in a river near the border with Colombia, the US Drug Enforcement Agency said.

US and South American law enforcement officials have battled semi-submersible craft for years that travel just below the surface to avoid detection and take cocaine to Central America for shipment to the US.

The captured craft is the first designed to travel completely under water and was specially built for smuggling drugs, authorities said.

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