Panama is used as a bridge for drugs that are produced in South America and whose main destination is the United States, the largest consumer of cocaine in the world, and also Europe.
The Panamanian authorities reported this Saturday the seizure in a Pacific port of the country of 400 drug packages bound for France.
The illicit substance, whose type and total weight were not specified, was found in black packages hidden between boxes in a container, according to videos released by the Ministry of Public Security.
“The alleged drug, which was seized through operational action, had France as its final destination,” added the Panamanian Security portfolio.
According to official information, between 2021 and this year, more than 70 tons of cocaine have been seized in the ports of Panama, which has coasts on the Atlantic and Pacific.
In these anti-drug operations “more than 20 port workers have been apprehended,” the Ministry of Public Security said this Saturday.
This 2022, the authorities have reported the dismantling of several groups accused of contaminating containers with drugs in Panamanian ports.
Last November and within the framework of an operation led by Europol, a large cartel was dismantled and six “drug lords” were arrested in Dubai, among them the Panamanian Anthony Alfredo Martínez Meza, designated as the alleged person responsible for the introduction of the cocaine in the port of Manzanillo in Panama and that he maintained contact with the rest of the drug lords in the emirate.
Authorities believe that this large cartel was behind a third of the total cocaine market in Europe.
So far this year, more than 120 tons of drugs have been seized in Panama, which suggests that 2022 will close with a new record figure that will leave behind the figure achieved in 2021, of 128.7 tons of narcotics.
Panama is used as a bridge for drugs that are produced in South America and whose main destination is the United States, the largest consumer of cocaine in the world, and also Europe.