Spanish police have recovered a sunken suspected drug submarine off the north-west coast of the country. As seen in a Civil Guard video, the inflated hull emerged from the sea off the port city of Vilagarcía de Arousa in Galicia.

The authorities assumed that the boat, which was at least 15 meters long, transported cocaine from Colombia to Spain, as reported by the newspaper "El País".

However, the cargo was probably brought ashore before the sinking, as indicated by two speedboats discovered on a beach in February. But there will only be certainty once the boat has been brought ashore.

A similar, 20-meter-long submersible was intercepted off the coast of Galicia in 2019. At that time, two members of the crew from Ecuador were arrested. Three tons of cocaine were on board. Such boats, which travel close to the surface of the water, have been built in shipyards hidden in the Colombian jungle for years.

Depending on their size, the boats can transport several tons of cocaine worth several hundred million euros across the Atlantic. They are usually used only once and are difficult to locate.

Galicia is one of the major hubs for cocaine in Europe. According to the authorities, various clans in the autonomous community have been supplying drugs from South America from the traditionally poor region across Europe for decades. The clan chiefs are often revered by the population as heroes who provide jobs and better living conditions.