Federal appeals court considering semisubs law November 1, 2010 - tbo.com
 Semisubs traverse shallow waters are plying the South American coastline laden with kilos of cocaine.
TAMPA - For about a year, semisubs seemed to be the way to go for Colombian cocaine smugglers.
Investigators with the Tampa-based Operation Panama Express were plucking crews out of the eastern Pacific Ocean at a rate of about one a month in 2009.
But so far this year, investigators have intercepted just two semisubs, the most recent in July. The prosecutor overseeing the cases thinks the drop-off may have something to do with a federal law conceived in Tampa.
At the same time, authorities say, smugglers have dramatically increased their use of panga boats in the continuing hide-and-seek between traffickers and law enforcement.
The small skiffs that traverse shallow waters are plying the South American coastline laden with kilos of cocaine bound for Mexico and then brought overland to the United States. The nimble vessels can be beached easily when spotted, allowing crew members to escape.
The semisubs, formally known as self-propelled semisubmersibles, can carry tons of cocaine. They poke no more than a foot out of the ocean, their engines safely below the surface, leaving no visible wake and a small radar signature.
The vessels pose a huge challenge for drug patrols crisscrossing thousands of miles of open water in search of smugglers.
And when spotted, semisub crews often would use scuttle valves to sink the vessel and its cargo of cocaine, leaving no evidence for drug prosecutions.
But in 2008, investigators were given a new tool: the Drug Trafficking Vessel Interdiction Act, which outlaws use of the stateless vessels in international waters. So, even when the cocaine was lost, prosecutors could bring criminal cases against a semisub's crew.
Last week, a federal appeals court heard arguments in one of the first appeals brought under the law. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to rule whether the law is constitutional.
In the meantime, "At this point, it appears that it's been very effective," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Ruddy, who oversees Operation Panama Express, an international drug trafficking investigation that has spanned more than a decade. "Now they realize, if they're caught, they're going to jail."
It appears the decrease in semisub cases "is at least partially attributable" to enforcement of the new law, Ruddy said.
The law is just one of many factors at work, said Sue McCormick, special agent in charge of the Tampa office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. World events may also be playing a role.
For example, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security had to move resources away from the eastern Pacific to respond to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the Haitian earthquake.
The Panama Express – or Pan Ex – investigation is built on intelligence, which enables the Coast Guard and Navy to home in on smugglers, McCormick said. But even with good intelligence, if there isn't a military ship nearby, the smugglers aren't caught.
Tampa defense attorney Daniel Castillo is trying to persuade the appeals court to overturn the law. He said he doesn't think the law has anything to do with the drop in semisub interdictions. Rather, he thinks smugglers are moving to other methods because the vessels aren't cost-effective.
Semisubs cost up to $1 million to construct, according to Ruddy, and they're designed to be used just once. They can smuggle up to 10 tons of cocaine.
By all accounts, conditions aboard the vessels are miserable – cramped, hot and full of diesel fumes, with no bathrooms or kitchens. Crew members "can't wait to get out of there," Ruddy said.
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