RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A mega-operation involving 250 members of the Ecuadorian Navy, members of the National Police, and with the support of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), succeeded in dismantling the most prominent drug gang operating off the coast of Manabí, Ecuador.
According to authorities, Ecuadorian Navy personnel intercepted nine boats carrying 100 crew members who were pretending to be fishing but were engaged in drug trafficking activities.
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The supposed fishing boats were positioned in critical areas along the route between Ecuador and Mexico to fuel speedboats leaving Manabi carrying cocaine to move the drugs at sea.
In some studies, the U.S. State Department has explained that Ecuador is an important route for shipping cocaine and heroin to Central America, North America, and Europe.
The commander of the Navy in Manabí, Cristian Fiallos, told Ecuavisa television that this operation served to capture “a criminal organization dedicated to logistical activities related to maritime drug trafficking”. According to the information provided by the authorities, the gang that was dismantled had sent at least 50 tons of cocaine to Mexico.
To dismantle the drug gang, police and military authorities have worked for more than a year to identify the gang members and their mode of operation.
Multiple actions allowed the officers to arrest the three ringleaders linked to Colombian and Mexican cartels, the financiers, and the warehousers and transporters of the drugs. One of those arrested is a military officer on inactive duty.
Last week, as part of this mega-operation against drug trafficking, 16 Ecuadorians were arrested in Manabí and are wanted by the U.S. justice system. However, Ecuador cannot extradite them. Last July, two Ecuadorians linked to this gang were arrested in Spain and extradited to the United States.
As part of the investigations, the economic resources of the detainees have been frozen, including 20 bank accounts. In addition, the judicial authorities have ordered the prohibition of the sale of the assets of the members of the narco-criminal gang. According to Ecuavisa, the assets of those arrested have tripled.
FIGHT AGAINST DRUG TRAFFICKING IN ECUADOR
Ecuador has undertaken several actions to combat drug trafficking. For example, in September of this year, the Andean country and the United States signed a regional agreement for the exchange of data and information which will allow the military forces to work “in a dynamic, coordinated, planned and permanent way to combat illicit trafficking”, according to the Ministry of National Defense.
Last week, for example, it was announced that a radar to locate drug planes began operating on Wednesday on Ecuador’s central coast. This radar is located where clandestine airstrips have been found, and several drug planes have crashed.
Likewise, operations to seize drugs or arrest people involved in drug trafficking do not stop. Recently, a training ship of the Ecuadorian Navy detained a semi-submersible drug trafficker in Pacific waters; the vessel can transport between six and eight tons of drugs.
Likewise, the National Police has reported that in the last 24 hours, 20 operations were carried out, resulting in the apprehension of 21 citizens and the seizure of more than 3 tons of illicit substances. Police authorities estimate that these operations prevented 24 million doses from reaching consumer markets.