Ecuador seizes about four tons of cocaine that were going to Africa

Ecuador seized this Friday in the port of Guayaquil about four tons of cocaine, whose destination was Sierra Leone in Africa, the Police reported.

A police dog alerted to the presence of drugs in a container that had canned peaches for export inside, General Pablo Ramírez, director of anti-drug investigation, said at a press conference.

“3.8 tons” of drugs were seized, Ramírez said. In Ecuador that amount is valued at about eight million dollars, while abroad it reaches 238 million dollars. Since January, the police have seized some 40 tons of drugs and have arrested more than 2,500 people for drug trafficking.

“In the ports we have seized 19 tons of cocaine hydrochloride,” Ramírez explained.

Guillermo Lasso’s government has declared war on drug trafficking, which bloodily disputes drug trafficking routes. The Executive maintains that the violence that plagues the country is the product of the seizures and arrests made by the police.

The authorities seized eight tons of drugs in February in Guayaquil (southwest). The city’s port is one of the main export points for cocaine to Europe.

Located between Colombia and Peru -the world’s main cocaine producers-, Ecuador seized in 2021 the annual record of 210 tons of drugs. In 2022 the authorities seized 220 tons.

Along with the seizures, violence has increased. The homicide rate went from 14 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2021 to 25 in 2022.

AFP