The unit was abandoned on a secondary road in the province of Carchi, and anti-drug dogs discovered the hidden cargo
Ecuadorian authorities dealt a resounding blow to drug trafficking, seizing nearly half a ton of cocaine that was transported in a truck that had a false bottom.
According to reports from the National Police, the unit was abandoned on a secondary road in the province of Carchi, which aroused the suspicions of the agents.
That is how they proceeded to search the vehicle and, with the help of anti-drug dogs, they managed to locate the secret compartment where 442 rectangular packages of cocaine were hidden, whose total weight was 441 kilos.
Until now, the fate of this important shipment or to which criminal organization it belonged has not been reported.
The truth is that the number of drug seizures has increased considerably in Ecuador, placing that country as the third nation in the world that seizes the most drugs, only behind Colombia and the United States, according to the latest World Drug Report. of United Nations.
In 2022 alone, 201 tons of drugs were seized and 12,760 people were arrested for the crime of drug trafficking, as well as 1,008 firearms were seized, according to what Pablo Ramírez, chief of Anti-Narcotics of the National Police, revealed to the newspaper El Universo.
The official added that drug seizures in the country’s ports increased, because while in 2021 54 tons were recorded, in 2022 they managed to detect and prohibit the passage of 77 tons, that is, an increase of 42%.
Likewise, it was announced that the European ports of the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Lithuania and France were the ones that seized drugs of Ecuadorian origin, since 78% of the total narcotics detected abroad were sent there and that had Ecuador as a game.