Ecuadorean authorities have seized 120 tons of drugs since the beginning of 2016, compared to 79 tons in 2015, Ecuador’s Interior Ministry reported Sunday.
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About 11.85 tons of cocaine were discovered in a container heading to Belgium in the port of Guayaquil Saturday, the largest seizure of the year, Vice Minister of the Interior Diego Fuentes said during a press conference.
"Field tests determined that 474 bags contained cocaine. Each one weighed approximately 25 kilo(gram)s, giving a total of 11.85 tons of cocaine,” said Fuentes, corresponding to an estimated value of at least US$480 million.
An investigation was opened, while the representative of the export agency who sent the shipment was put under arrest.
"This was a message to drug trafficking organizations, especially at the ports and airports. In the coming weeks, we will make more large-scale interventions," said Fuentes.
"We will not allow these networks ... to circumvent controls, we are ready to renew our efforts to neutralize these illegal exports," warned Fuentes.