Ecuador Busts Cocaine Network Hiding Drugs in Plantain Snack Exports
Ecuador’s National Police on May 8 dismantled a transnational cocaine-trafficking network that for two years had been hiding the drug in export containers of “chifles” (thin slices of fried green plantain) bound for Spain, Belgium and Sierra Leone, with seven Ecuadorian nationals arrested in 12 hours of coordinated operations alongside the Attorney General’s Office.
Interior Minister John Reimberg said the operation produced 9 raid searches across multiple provinces after two years of intelligence work, with alleged ring leader Henry Isaac Játiva Murillo identified as the former general manager of plantain-export firm Nina Bananas.
The bust forms part of a broader pattern of cocaine being trafficked through Ecuador (which sits between Colombia and Peru, the world’s two largest cocaine producers), with Pacific ports increasingly used for shipments to Europe and authorities seizing 41.5 tons of drugs in the first three months of 2026.
Key Points
— 7 arrested in May 8 operation after 12 hours; 9 raid searches total.
— Suspected leader: Henry Isaac Játiva Murillo, ex-manager of Nina Bananas S.A.
— Cargo destinations: Spain, Belgium, Sierra Leone.
— Methods: false bottoms, cargo contamination, “blind hook” technique.
— Ecuador seized 41.5 tons of drugs in Q1 2026; 2 years of investigation.
The May 8 Operation
The Rio Times, the Latin American financial news outlet, reports that the National Police dismantled a structured criminal group operating in Guayaquil that had specialized in contaminating export containers with cocaine, focusing primarily on plantain shipments to Europe, after two years of intelligence work coordinated with the Attorney General’s Office. The seven arrested include alleged ring leader Henry Isaac Játiva Murillo, identified as the former general manager of Nina Bananas, who allegedly handled coordination and financing for the smuggling operations. Police said the group used techniques including false-bottom containers, cargo contamination, and the “blind hook” (gancho ciego) method of inserting drugs into pre-cleared cargo, along with clandestine warehouses on the Vía a la Costa highway used to taint shipments before port loading.
The Routes and Methods
The illicit shipments were bound for ports in Spain, Belgium, and Sierra Leone, with police also detecting cloning of port security seals and the use of clandestine warehouses to contaminate cargo before delivery to the export terminals. The bust follows Operation Bremen in March, when the National Police, in coordination with Canada’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police, dismantled a separate network linked to the Albanian mafia and the local Los Lagartos criminal group, with 2.5 tons of cocaine hydrochloride seized across five operations. Investigation extended through Guayas, Los Ríos, Manabí, El Oro and Chimborazo provinces.
Wider Cocaine Pattern
Ecuador has become a critical transit corridor for cocaine produced in neighboring Colombia and Peru, with Pacific ports including Guayaquil, Posorja and Naportec increasingly used as launch points for shipments to Europe and North America. The Attorney General has charged at least 12 members of a separate cocaine-export ring (April 2025) with preventive detention after three discovery operations: May 2024 (144.3 kg in plantain), October 2024 (79.5 kg) and October 2024 (562.6 kg bound for Germany). Reimberg has previously noted that Ecuador seized 41.5 tons of drugs in Q1 2026, underlining the scale of the trafficking infrastructure being targeted.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Operation date | May 8, 2026 |
| Arrested | 7 Ecuadorian nationals |
| Investigation length | 2 years |
| Raid searches | 9 total |
| Alleged leader | Henry Isaac Játiva Murillo |
| Linked firm | Nina Bananas S.A. (ex-manager) |
| Destinations | Spain, Belgium, Sierra Leone |
| Q1 2026 Ecuador seizures | 41.5 tons of drugs |
Noboa Security Agenda
President Daniel Noboa’s administration has placed security and counter-narcotics enforcement at the center of its second-term agenda, designating the Interior Ministry under John Reimberg as a primary delivery vehicle for the strategy. The May 8 bust is the most prominent in a series of recent operations that includes the March Operation Bremen joint with Canada‘s Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the April 2025 preventive-detention case against 12 alleged cocaine-export ring members. The investigations seek to disrupt the criminal cooperation between Ecuadorian groups (Los Lagartos, Los Lobos) and European trafficking organizations (notably the so-called Albanian mafia and Balkan crime networks) that have used Ecuadorian banana and plantain export corridors as primary cocaine routes to European markets.
Connected Coverage
For the wider LATAM context see our coverage of Peru’s $27 billion record Q1 2026 exports and Chile’s record four-month trade figure of $70 billion.
What to Watch
- Trial: Whether the 7 detainees face formal charges and a preventive-detention order.
- European partners: Coordinated arrests at destination ports (Spain, Belgium) following the bust.
- Plantain exports: Whether legitimate exporters tighten security against future cargo contamination.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Ecuador’s police dismantle?
Ecuador’s National Police on May 8 dismantled a transnational cocaine-trafficking network that had been hiding the drug in export containers of “chifles” (thin slices of fried green plantain) bound for Spain, Belgium and Sierra Leone, with 7 Ecuadorian nationals arrested in 12 hours of coordinated operations with the Attorney General’s Office. Interior Minister John Reimberg said the operation produced 9 raid searches across multiple provinces after 2 years of investigation. The alleged ring leader is Henry Isaac Játiva Murillo, identified as the former general manager of plantain-export firm Nina Bananas according to police statements.
How was the cocaine hidden in shipments?
Police said the group used three main methods to contaminate plantain export containers with cocaine bound for Europe: false-bottom containers (compartments built into the structure to hide drugs), direct cargo contamination, and the “blind hook” (gancho ciego) method of inserting drugs into pre-cleared cargo. The group also cloned port security seals and operated clandestine warehouses on the Vía a la Costa highway near Guayaquil to taint shipments before they entered the export terminal system. Two years of intelligence work and international cooperation produced 9 simultaneous raids and 7 arrests on May 8.
Why is Ecuador a cocaine transit hub?
Ecuador sits between Colombia and Peru, the world’s two largest cocaine producers, and its Pacific ports (notably Guayaquil, Posorja and Naportec) have become primary launch points for cocaine shipments to Europe and North America in recent years. Authorities seized 41.5 tons of drugs in the first three months of 2026 alone, with separate cases in 2024-2025 including 144.3 kg of cocaine in a May 2024 plantain shipment, 79.5 kg in October 2024 and 562.6 kg bound for Germany in another October 2024 case. The Interior Ministry has placed cocaine-trafficking disruption at the center of the second Noboa administration’s security agenda.
How does this relate to Operation Bremen?
The May 8 plantain-snack bust follows Operation Bremen, completed in March in coordination with Canada’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police after 20 months of investigation, which dismantled a separate network linked to the Albanian mafia and the local Los Lagartos criminal group with 2.5 tons of cocaine hydrochloride seized across 5 operations. Operation Bremen used simultaneous raids in Guayas, Los Ríos, Manabí, El Oro and Chimborazo provinces, targeting banana and gold-export companies used to hide drugs in cargo or secret container compartments. Both operations are part of the same Noboa security strategy targeting export-corridor contamination.
Updated: 2026-05-11T12:00:00Z by Rio Times Editorial Desk
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