After operations in Esmeraldas, drug traffickers use routes through Sucumbíos

Ecuadornews:

The strong police and military defense that exists on the northern border, in Esmeraldas, generated the drug trafficking organizations adopt new strategies.

Anti-drug agents reveal that now the mafias are looking for new routes to send drugs abroad and assure they have taken up transport routes located in the border areas of Sucumbíos. The uniformed have studied the movement of the mafias and say that since January 27, date that increased the guard in San Lorenzo for the terrorist attack to the police station, Sucumbíos is used to take out the drug that is processed in Nariño and Putumayo, two departments of Colombia.

For example, on Sunday, April 29, 2018, 420 kilos of cocaine were seized in Quito. The alkaloid was camouflaged on the metal platform of a truck. The first investigations indicate that the vehicle left from Lago Agrio (Sucumbíos) to the capital. Then he planned to transport the cargo to the shores of Esmeraldas.

There a speedboat was going to move the illegal packages to Guatemala, Mexico and the US. On March 30, the Police discovered another shipment in Guayaquil.

The agents of the operation indicated that it was 100 kilos of cocaine. In that case, the drug left Lago Agrio and crossed provinces of the Sierra Center, such as Tungurahua and Chimborazo. Then he came to the canton El Triunfo and finally to Guayas. The cargo was destined for Europe.

In this market each kilo is valued at USD 45 000. Therefore, the researchers warn that the mafias cannot stop sending, because the production does not stop in Nariño. According to the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation, the largest number of coca crops is concentrated in that Colombian department.

In fact, it is estimated that only in Tumaco, a municipality of Nariño, there are 23 148 hectares of planted coca. This means 16% of the illegal crops that exist in Colombia. For this reason, the drug traffickers try to take the drug through Sucumbíos to take it to the coasts of Manabí, Guayas and the south of Esmeraldas.

But to avoid this, the Armed Forces have mobilized more than 12,000 troops, including police and military, throughout the border. In addition, they have mounted fixed and mobile controls on the roads that connect Sucumbíos with the rest of the country.

The fluvial axes are also monitored. That was how on March 21, the Navy seized half a ton of drugs in the Piñuña river, Sucumbíos. The uniformed found the cargoes in a boat. In that operation there were no detainees because they fled when they noticed the presence of the sailors.

Another strategy adopted by the police to prevent the passage of alkaloids was to deploy intelligence agents on the coasts of the country. They are in charge of identifying farms or beaches that are used as collection centers of the organizations.

The control points are also in airports and seaports. This happens because in the last shipments seized it was detected that the illicit organizations intended to contaminate containers to send the packages legally. The controls at these points intensified. The police say they will maintain permanent operations. (I)

Source: http://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/operativos-esmeraldas-narcotrafico-sucumbios-fronteranorte.html