Executive Summary

Criminal organizations’ use of autonomous or remotely operated Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) to move drugs is likely to increase over time, complicating law enforcement agencies’ efforts to track and detect smuggling. Authorities have adapted by developing their own UUVs to tackle this new smuggling tool, but the effectiveness of this approach remains unclear. Traffickers have moved narcotics in semi-submersible watercraft since the 1990s. However, fully submersible UUVs present a new law enforcement challenge. Given the difficulty in detecting them with radar and sonar and due to loopholes in international maritime law. 

Images Sourced From: The Olive Press, Deep Trekker, AUVSI