( CNN ) -- A submarine found by anti-drug police in Ecuador last week cost $ 4 million to build and could have hauled 6 to 10 metric tons of cocaine , a top U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration official said Wednesday . The fully functional submarine was built at a drydock at a clandestine complex that housed 50 people , said Jay Bergman , Andean regional director for the DEA . Authorities found the sub hidden in marshland under triple-canopy jungle , Bergman told CNN 's `` American Morning '' program . `` This is the first seizure of a clandestinely constructed fully operational submarine built to facilitate trans-oceanic drug trafficking , '' the DEA said in a statement last week . `` Traffickers historically employed slow-moving fishing boats , sail boats , pleasure craft go-fasts , '' Bergman said last week . `` The advent of the narco-submarine presents new detection challenges for maritime interdiction forces . The submarine 's nautical range , payload capacity and quantum leap in stealth have raised the stakes for the counter-drug forces and the national security community alike . '' The vessel utilizes twin screws and is diesel-electric powered , the agency said . It is about 98 feet ( 30 meters ) long and 9 feet ( nearly 3 meters ) high from the deck plates to the ceiling . It has a periscope and an air-conditioning system .
Submarine could have hauled 6 to 10 metric tons of cocaine , DEA says . The $ 4 million vessel was built at a clandestine complex . Sub is first of its kind found by drug agents , DEA says . Comment: