QUITO, (Reuters) – Ecuadorean authorities have  discovered a 30-meter (98 foot)-long submarine being built near  the country’s Pacific Coast designed to carry drugs toward the  United States.

For years, U.S. and South American law enforcement  officials have battled semi-submersible craft that travel just  below the surface to avoid detection and take cocaine to  Central America for trans-shipment to the United States.

The captured craft is the first designed to travel  completely under water and was specially built for smuggling  drugs, authorities said.

One person was arrested when Ecuadorean police, assisted by  U.S. anti-drug intelligence, captured the diesel  electric-powered submarine. Outfitted with a periscope and air  conditioning, it was being readied for its maiden voyage.
“Its nautical range, payload capacity and quantum leap in  stealth has raised the stakes for counter-drug forces and the  national security community alike,” said Jay Bergman, Andean  director for the U.S. Drug Enforce-ment Administration.

The Andean region is the world’s biggest producer of  cocaine and the United States represents the largest market.