A submarine carrying over a tonne of cocaine was bound for Mexico when it was captured off the coast of Peru on Saturday, according to Peruvian officials.

“We’re talking about more than a tonne of cocaine, [but] we’re still weighing [it],” Attorney General Jorge Chávez said.

Traveling aboard the submarine were two Colombians, an Ecuadorian and a Mexican. All four were arrested.

Chávez said the vessel was loaded in a mangrove forest in Ecuador near the border with Peru.

He did not explain why the ship entered Peru’s territorial waters, to the south of Ecuador, if it aimed to travel north to Mexico.

Painted a greyish color meant to blend in with the surface of the ocean, the partially submersible craft was towed to the port of Paita, about 1,000 kilometers north of Lima.

“This is the first submarine captured in Peru. As of now, we know that the ship’s destination was Mexico,” said Chávez.

“We’re asking the navy for a technical report on its construction,” he said.

He said his office was unaware of which criminal organization the men were working for.

Drug cartels began to use submarines to transport their products in 2005, and it is believed that they are built in Colombia, Ecuador or Guyana.

Peru produces over 400 tonnes of cocaine a year, according to that country’s anti-drug agency, and the majority of it is exported via maritime routes. Peru is one of the world’s largest producers of coca and cocaine, according to the United Nations, although Colombia is the world leader.

Source: Milenio (sp)