That's a long way from South America.
From the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, August 21:
It has been three weeks since a narco-sub was spotted drifting in the turquoise waters off this remote Pacific nation, and authorities have yet to conclude their investigation, leaving residents with more questions than answers about how such a vessel, built for clandestine drug runs, ended up here — thousands of miles from its usual routes.
And it’s the second one in a year. Last August, a nearly identical craft appeared near a coral atoll about 400 kilometers north of Isabel Island, where the latest sub washed ashore. Maritime officials suspect both vessels may have traveled — or drifted — more than 13,000 kilometers from Latin America to the Solomons, a journey that covers more than a quarter of the planet’s circumference.
Where is the cargo, then? Where is the crew?
Last year’s find was made by Dr. Reginald Aipa, a physician-turned-businessman, who came across the abandoned boat at the Ontong Java atoll. Its starter motors, steering connections, and battery were missing, and the hull was littered with debris. Police inspected the scene, Dr. Aipa said, but never got back to him. He repaired it himself. Now, he is the proud — if unconventional — owner of a refurbished narco-sub, repurposed as his personal boat.
These semi-submersible vessels, typically fiberglass and built to evade radar, are designed for speed and stealth, ferrying tons of cocaine along the coasts of South and Central America toward the United States.
The most recent craft — about 25 meters long and two meters wide — was first seen on July 28, when a member of Parliament encountered it drifting off Ramos Island. Currents pushed it onto a strip of sand beside Ghoveo Village. Police arrived last week, told residents it would stay put “as investigations continued,” and left....
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