https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_3c03f4af-ef50-49b4-a344-87b6242911aa.html

Drug smuggling at legal entry points remains a big issue, report says

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/worl...al-surge/ar-AA1E10tz?ocid=BingNewsBrowse

The Potent Powder and ‘Narco-Subs’ Driving Cocaine’s Global Surge

https://www.newarab.com/news/algeria-seizes-165-million-ecstasy-pills-major-drug-bust

Algeria seizes 1.65 million ecstasy pills in major drug bust

US Coast Guard seizes cocaine off Canary Islands
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has intercepted more than 4.5 tons of cocaine on a fishing boat near Spanish territorial waters. The operation took place in mid-April but has only just been made public. The operation, approximately 2,030 kilometers west of Las Palmas, near the Canary Islands, is remarkable. It is the first time that the Americans have intercepted cocaine so far from the American coast.

Between 2008 and 2022, cocaine prices in the Netherlands remained stable at around 50 euros per gram. The price of cocaine peaked in 2012 and again in 2014, at 53 euros, before decreasing again slightly. In 2022, a gram of cocaine in the Netherlands sold for 52 euros. This was significantly higher than the price of amphetamine, which on average cost just seven euros per gram that year.

But the current wholesale price €13,000 per KG is unbelieveable last year it was still €28,000.

https://www.theobserver.ca/news/loc...prison-for-smuggling-cocaine-into-sarnia

Trucker gets 10 years in prison for smuggling cocaine into Sarnia

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-n...s-deploy-cocaine-navies-to-evade-police/

Drug traffickers deploy ‘cocaine navies’ to evade police
‘Narco-subs’ carry million-pound cocaine cargo beneath waterline to go undetected by radars

Drug traffickers are deploying “cocaine navies” to cross vast distances by sea and reach new markets undetected.

So-called “narco-subs” are capable of sailing across oceans with millions of pounds worth of cocaine onboard in a new underwater drug trafficking route.

The vessels – which are long, thin and painted the colour of the sea – are designed to evade radar and aerial searches and carry most of their illegal cargo below the its waterline.

They require no stops and are therefore difficult for authorities to intercept. Some are fully submersible, according to The Wall Street Journal.

In November, the US Coast Guard intercepted a 90ft-long semi-submersible skimming just below the water’s surface. It was trying to sail from Colombia to Australia, a distance of 9,000 miles, with five tons of cocaine stowed on board.
The rise of the new maritime drug smuggling tactics comes amid cocaine supply hitting an historic high worldwide, according to UN and US anti-drug officials.
A softening in anti-drug enforcement in Colombia – which produces 60 per cent of the world’s cocaine – combined with production advances, improvements in the supply chain and growing consumer demand, are driving cocaine’s global surge.

The US has also rolled back on its efforts to help anti-drug initiatives in Colombia, shifting its resources towards highly addictive drugs flooding America’s streets such as fentanyl and methamphetamines from Mexico.

Supply has grown so large that the price of coca leaf has plunged to a record low, experts say.

And yet, retail prices continue to grow as new markets open up in Asia and Africa, fuelling South America’s demand. A kilo of cocaine in Australia sells for more than $200,000 (£150,000), eight to 10 times the price it sells for in Miami.

All this has propelled drug smugglers to find new, inventive ways to get their stock across the world, leading to the creation of a new cocaine highway across the Pacific Ocean relying on semi-submersibles.

“What used to be a one-boat operation risking a run through the Caribbean is now a far more globalised network – with many more players, including seasoned smugglers and captains from illegal fishing fleets,” Captain González of the Colombian navy’s research team, told The Wall Street Journal.

“In time, they evolved in their operations, in their reach, their radius of action and how much they could carry,” Captain Grisales added.
The US is the greatest consumer of cocaine worldwide, but Australia has the highest percentage of users at 4.2 per cent of the population, followed by the UK with 2.7 per cent and the US in fifth with 2.4 per cent.

Narco-subs are also reaching the shores of Europe.

Last month, Portugal seized a narco-sub carrying €300 million (£255 million) worth of cocaine that had crossed the Atlantic to Europe from South America.

Europe’s first drug-stuffed submersible was caught off Spain in 2019, carrying 3000kg of cocaine, first alerting drug authorities that the underwater route existed.

In August last year, the Royal Navy seized its first narco-sub in the Caribbean in a joint operation with the US coast guard to help stem the flow of illegal cargo through the region.

The vessel, captured by HMS Trent after a high-speed pursuit, had 2000kg of cocaine on board, worth £160 million.

A ship with 400 kilos of cocaine on board, en route to the Netherlands, was intercepted in time by the police in Argentina. The drugs, with a street value of around 6 million euros, turned out to be hidden in refrigerators, with the crew's food.

This is reported by media in the South American country. The drugs were in a grain ship and were intercepted in the port of San Lorenzo, near the city of Rosario.

The discovery was made after detective work by Cuero, a trained dog, during an operation organized by the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office of the San Lorenzo region, in which the Argentine Naval Prefecture (PNA) was also involved.

Drug bust among the bananas: ton of cocaine intercepted with destination Rotterdam
About 400 kilos of drugs were found, hidden in bags in a refrigerator containing the crew's food. The packages were embossed with images of crowns. The drugs probably came from a cartel that is very active in the region.

https://nypost.com/2025/05/03/us-ne...-fentanyl-drug-ring-from-florida-prison/

MS-13 gangbanger nicknamed ‘Chuky’ sentenced to 17 years for prison fentanyl drug ring

https://www.hindustantimes.com/citi...igh-value-drugs-dri-101746385511746.html

High-value drugs like cocaine now being smuggled more through air route: DRI

https://www.tucsonsentinel.com/nati...rison-helped-fuel-deadly-drug-crisis-us/

Fentanyl pipeline: How a Chinese prison helped fuel deadly drug crisis in U.S.

https://www.malaymail.com/news/mala...dicate-of-the-year-in-setiu-raids/175658

RM25m drug haul: Cops bust east coast's biggest trafficking syndicate of the year in Setiu raids

https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/c...ze-rm25mil-drugs-bound-for-aussie-market

Cops seize RM25mil in drugs bound for Aussie market

Largest international drug trafficking syndicate on the east coast busted in twin raids around Setiu, Terengganu.

https://www.arabtimesonline.com/new...uggling-operation-50000-capsules-seized/

Kuwaiti Fugitive in the UK Behind Narcotics Smuggling Operation; 50,000 Capsules Seized

https://www.thevibes.com/articles/n...-in-rm25-million-meth-and-heroin-seizure

Malaysia

East Coast drug syndicate busted in RM25 million meth and heroin seizure
Police uncover international drug smuggling route using Malaysia as transit hub, with nearly 600kg of narcotics destined for Australia intercepted in Setiu

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/colomb...accused-paying-for-dead-police-officers/

Colombia arrests over 200 suspected members of cartel accused of paying recruits $3,500 for "dead police officers"

https://themedialine.org/by-region/despite-raids-the-captagon-threat-outlives-assad-and-nasrallah/

Despite Raids, the Captagon Threat Outlives Assad and Nasrallah

https://sundayguardianlive.com/news/rising-female-involvement-in-punjabs-drug-trade-sparks-alarm#

Rising female involvement in Punjab’s drug trade sparks alarm

https://www.sinardaily.my/article/7...217-suspected-members-of-top-drug-cartel

Colombia arrests 217 suspected members of top drug cartel
The Gulf Clan was born out of the right-wing paramilitary groups that fought leftist guerrillas in the 1990s before turning their attention to the cocaine trade.

https://kfoxtv.com/news/local/drama...bp-battles-deadly-drug-smuggling-tactics

"Dramatic" rise in internal carriers: El Paso CBP battles deadly drug smuggling tactics

https://www.manchestereveningnews.c...man-denies-drug-smuggling-after-31581426

Man denies drug smuggling after almost '£1 million worth of cocaine found in wheelchair'

https://www.foxnews.com/us/pam-bondi-announces-largest-fentanyl-seizure-us-history

Bondi announces one of largest fentanyl seizures in US history
Bondi said 11.5 kilograms of the drug, including 3 million pills, were seized

https://q1065.fm/maine-drug-busts-addison-abbot-2025/

Maine Drug Agents conducted searches in two separate communities in the past week and arrested 9 people on drug trafficking charges.

https://www.salemreporter.com/2025/...aloa-cartel-linked-operation-from-salem/

Man accused of running Sinaloa cartel-linked operation from Salem

https://www.wlky.com/article/mexican-cartel-operation-louisville-drugs-guns-cash/64675059

Mexican cartel operation in Louisville was happening in plain sight, investigators say

https://www.kvoa.com/news/cbp-halts...cf4ff97-5483-4c19-b114-da8526647563.html

CBP halts drug smuggling at Nogales: 100k fentanyl pills found

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fentany-bust-arrests-justice-department-pam-bondi/

U.S.
Sinaloa cartel leader among 16 arrested in historic U.S. fentanyl bust, Justice Department says

https://evrimagaci.org/tpg/moroccan-authorities-seize-half-ton-of-cocaine-in-tangier-345547

Moroccan Authorities Seize Half Ton Of Cocaine In Tangier

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2...roduction-de-drogue-demantelee-a-bromont

Small drug production plant dismantled in Bromont

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14684819/kimberly-hall-ice-british-drugs.html

British beautician 'drugs mule' in bungled escape attempt from US