In November, an ocean-going vessel from Brazil slowly berthed in Hong Kong waters. The massive 333-meter-long and 48-meter-wide cargo ship appeared calm on the surface, but concealed a secret deep beneath its hull.
Criminal gangs wrapped 417 kilograms of cocaine in waterproof materials, attached 5-10 kg lead blocks, and carefully hid them at the ship's water intake gate about 11 meters underwater. Liu Yulong, Senior Superintendent of the Hong Kong Customs Narcotics Investigation Bureau, stated at a case briefing that this was the first time Customs had discovered such a covert method of hiding drugs by criminal groups.
As a result, Customs officers faced enormous challenges during the search. The underwater area beneath the ship spanned the size of three standard football fields, with dim light and extremely low visibility—making the task akin to finding a needle in a haystack. Traditional diver searches had numerous limitations in this environment. To address this, Customs deployed underwater drones to work in coordination with divers.
CHASING's Gladius P200 PRO Underwater Drone participated in the operation, its agile frame diving into murky waters. With excellent current resistance and underwater maneuverability, it navigated stably through the complex hull structure. Equipped with a high-definition camera and fill lights, it penetrated the turbid water, transmitting real-time underwater images clearly to the surface, providing law enforcement officers with reliable basis for judgment.
Ultimately, with the assistance of the underwater drone, Customs officers successfully located suspicious items at the ship's underwater intake gate, exposing the drugs that had attempted to slip through undetected.
This operation not only marked a successful law enforcement case but also set a new benchmark for border control security work. Under CHASING's underwater drone border security solution, border control and police departments can use drones like the Gladius P200 PRO for long-duration, refined underwater searches. These drones assist or replace divers in high-difficulty operations in dangerous areas, using accessories such as retractable cameras and robotic arms to access hard-to-reach areas like hull valve compartments. This effectively covers underwater blind spots, ensures personnel safety, and improves search efficiency. Meanwhile, real-time image transmission and data retention provide reliable evidence and traceability for law enforcement processes, further enhancing law enforcement efficiency and transparency.
Tianjin Entry-Exit Border Inspection Station Jointly Develops Underwater Inspection Drone for Contraband in Submarine Valve Compartments with CHASING
For shipowners and ship management companies, proactively introducing standardized intelligent underwater inspections is a proactive measure to prevent crew involvement in crimes, avoid ship detention, ensure stable route operations, and reduce the risk of joint liability and potential losses.
When the secrets beneath the ship were uncovered, we saw not only the seizure of a batch of drugs but also the protection of countless lives that could have been harmed by drugs, the effective mitigation of risks facing thousands of families, and the further consolidation of the foundation of social public security.
Technology not only changes life but also silently protects it. No matter how covert criminal methods are or how deeply hidden dark corners may be, they will ultimately be exposed to the light of technology. This victory in underwater "drug hunting" marks the successful conclusion of a search mission—and the beginning of a new era where technology empowers security and innovation safeguards the times.
Technology breaks through traditional limits, discovers hard-to-reach risks, solves unresolved problems, and makes the invisible visible. Underwater drones are born for this purpose. This is also the philosophy that CHASING has always upheld.
