8: The Cocaine Armada and the Tip-Off Nobody Believed

Cocaine isn't just smuggled by speedboats and drug mules. For decades the cartels have built something much bigger...

In the late 1990s, the cartels changed the game, constructing a floating supply chain that crisscrossed the ocean with tonnes of cocaine.

Then came the tip-off no one believed. A young Drugs Liaison Officer uncovered intelligence so explosive his bosses thought he’d been reading too many spy novels.

They were wrong.

What came next was a secret maritime campaign combining military aircraft, special forces, submarines, warships, and uneasy alliances with Spain and the U.S.

This is how the drug war moved from the skies to the sea.

Host: Lindsay Charlton
Insiders: Phil Matthews, Graham Honey, Martin Dubbey and Mike Gough Cooper

Narco Warriors is a true crime podcast featuring real stories from law enforcement veterans who fought international drug trafficking, organised crime, and global criminal networks.

New episodes every Monday at 6am GMT.