13 investigated have been linked to Mexican drug traffickers

Ecuadornews:

The investigation into the trafficking of military weapons to ‘Guacho’ shows how the soldiers also had relations with Mexican drug traffickers. The agents intercepted the uniformed calls and revealed that the trafficking of arms and ammunition for the dissidents was only part of the illicit operations.

Base don codes and jargon, the military also talked about drug trafficking and planned to buy a farm. The only condition was that the property has a landing strip “so that the planes can arrive”. Because if they wanted tobuild the track that would “draw attention”. This is shown in thesynopsis of the dialogues, included in the tax file, which is public.

The property they were looking for was not for them. Rather, they wanted to acquire it for “the Mexicans”, who in exchange for their help would give them money. In one part of the conversation you hear the following: “That if you ‘crown’ the commission is 3%. This means USD 500,000, which the ‘Gordo’ has to divide, “adds one of the suspects.

The conversations about the purchase of a hacienda took place between September 14and 19. However, the entire communications interception process began in Augustand ended at the beginning of last October, when the seven soldiers and the six civilians were captured. In one part of the dialogue, one of the detainees explains that there are two haciendas for sale: in Tosagua (Manabí) and inBabahoyo (Los Ríos).

The latter cost USD 19 million. “It’s big and complete,” they say. A caller asks you to send all the information through a voice message to send to your contact. For six days, the suspects talk about the hacienda and look for options. Another property that met the characteristics they were looking for is near Quevedo, also in Los Ríos.

This land was worth USD 10 million, but the permits for the track were expired. They talk about “solving the issue of permits” and then going to call the Mexicans. They say that the hacienda “is immense, it is a banana plantation and there the plane can be hidden and that they also have people who control the GPS of the plane.”

Other conversations focus on drug trafficking. For example, a soldier who was detained at Fort Huancavilca, in Guayas, asks a person identified as alias’ Gato’ if he has “those things” (drug). He explains that they need120 kilos and that he wants to know the price, “but of the Johnny Special,the one that goes (for export)”

Alias​​’Gato’ responds that this type of drug costs between USD 1 400 and USD 1 500per kilo and that price is because they produce it. The soldier tells him that first he wants a “bottle” of proof, but for that same day.

Alias​​’Gato’ tells him that the cargo has it in the field, about five hours away.Then, the soldier appears in another dialogue with a suspect. There they talk that their contacts do not want to wait many days to get the drug “because the ship is leaving”. All these data are now in the hands of the Prosecutor’s Office and more clues are traced. (I)

Source: https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/investigacion-trafico-armas-uniformados-guacho.html