Narco-submarines

Drug smuggling submarines. Oh, yes.

These nifty little buggers are narco-submarines, they are custom made ocean-going self-propelled submersible vessels built by drug traffickers to smuggle drugs. Also known as drug sub and Bigfoot submarine. They are mostly known to be used by Colombian drug cartel members to export cocaine from Colombia to Mexico, which is often then transported overland to the United States. The first known subs, detected in 1993, were semi-submersibles since they could not dive: most of the craft was no more than a cockpit and the exhaust gas pipes all above the water. Newer narco-subs are fully submersible, designed specifically to be difficult to detect visually or by radar, sonar and infrared systems.
Picture of semi-submersible subs seized in raids, lined up at the Bahia Malaga Naval Base.

A sailors tale

A captain hired by the narco-traffickers, who made three runs to Mexico at the helm of semi-subs, described the conditions as "hellish," with the crew subsisting on crackers, canned beans and milk. "There's always an armed person on board to keep watch over the crew and the cargo," the former captain told TIME. "If anyone starts to panic or mutiny, his orders are to eliminate the troublemaker."
http://content.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2061931_2260142,00.html

This submarine constructed by traffickers in the mangrove swamps of the Colombian Pacific coast was found by the Naval Infantry on February 12 near Timbuiqui. Made with three-centimeter-thick fiberglass, the submarine has a 346-horse power engine, space for a crew of four, a range of about 900 miles and the capacity to transport 8 tons of cocaine.
http://content.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2061931_2260133,00.html

One of the drug subs battery collection.

A view of the captain's seat inside a seized sub. The boat had the ability to cut its engine and dive down some 30 feet to hide from interdiction boats and aircraft.

Experts estimate that 70% of the cocaine leaving Colombia's Pacific coast in 2009 was packed aboard semi-subs. These subs often had poor ventilation which pushed up the temperature inside to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, making it hard to breathe.

Minimalist bathroom.

A bit of a subs engine. Some drug subs had 4 or more engines. Transporting cocaine from the Colombian jungle to drop-off points in Central America and Mexico takes about two weeks aboard the semi-subs.

The sub's periscope utilizes two cameras, one for daylight and one for night vision to monitor the sea surface while submerged.
http://content.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2061931_2260138,00.html

Drug subs use a range of high and low technology. The boat shown in the picture was equipped with GPS, electronic charts and two types of radios.

Old go-kart steering wheels control the flippers for diving and surfacing.

These subs are often cheap to build even with new and advanced technologies used to help keep the sub undetectable.

Some guy looks around a drug sub.

Semi-submersible vessels, like this one captured in 2006, have been one of the most successful ways of carrying cocaine from Colombia to Mexico. The ship's low profile, only a small portal, air and exhaust pipes stick out of the water, make it difficult to track with radar but it is easily spotted now they know what to look for.

If submarines are your thing, here's a link to some war subs: http://imgur.com/gallery/81ipn