WFCN –
Paraguayan authorities were taken aback when they discovered almost 4 tons of cocaine concealed within a sugar shipment destined for Belgium.
As a result, the largest cocaine capture in the country’s history was reported on Tuesday. South American officials have revealed two large-scale drug busts this week, both involving food shipments that included cocaine.
Paraguay has been transformed into a major drug trafficking hub in the area, according to President Santiago Peña, who informed journalists that the record finding, code-named “Operation Sweetness,” was only one of several “very sad episodes” in the country.
Police are seeking individuals responsible, and Peña expressed hope that the $240 million seizure will disrupt the cocaine trafficking.
Image – The Independent
“It seems to indicate to organized gangs that they should not utilize Paraguay as a transit point because they will encounter authorities who are committed and collaborating,” Peña stated, assuring additional endeavors to enhance port security. “Gangs are not going to be able to avoid all the controls that we are implementing.”
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Puerto Caacupemi is a river port in Asunción, the capital of Paraguay, and on Monday, operatives from the anti-drug organization Senad began unloading shipping containers with 88-pound bags of sugar. They had not yet finished sorting and weighing the cocaine hidden inside the container as of Tuesday.
Images from the operation, depicting Senad agents and an anti-drug dog inspecting the sugar bags, were among six that were released by the authorities.
The provenance of the narcotics was unclear at first. Paraguay is not a cocaine producer, unlike its neighbors Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru.
But as cartel bosses find new ways to reach new markets, the tiny landlocked nation has recently made headlines as a smuggling sanctuary — for narcotics, cigarettes, and luxury items, among other things. Corruption and even bloodshed have resulted from this in a nation that was previously numb to drug-related violence.
Coke shipments from Paraguay’s busy river ports, where they can go undetected, have been the source of some of Europe’s largest cocaine seizures, particularly at Belgium’s Antwerp port.
According to BBC News, in 2020, cops in Paraguay discovered 2.3 tons of cocaine concealed under a cargo of charcoal, which was a record-breaking find at the time.
“From a geographical standpoint, Paraguay is strategically located near the world’s largest cocaine producers,” Senad spokesman Francisco Ayala said from the port where the cocaine haul was assessed. “It has a globally recognized river traffic system … it’s perfect.”
Just one day before to the announcement of the landmark Paraguayan seizure, authorities in Ecuador revealed the discovery of over six tons of cocaine concealed in a banana cargo destined for Germany.
British authorities broke the record for the largest single seizure of hard drugs in the country in February when they discovered over 12,500 pounds of cocaine concealed in a shipment of fruit.