Record drug discovery: Ecuador seizes almost ten tons of cocaine from Colombia

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Drug package (symbol image)

Photo: Nariman Safarov / Getty Images

Drug investigators from Ecuador have seized large quantities of cocaine in the coastal city of Guayaquil.

Interior Minister Alexandra Vela spoke on Friday (local time) of a "historic" police operation.

At 9.6 tons, it is the largest drug discovery ever made by the Ecuadorian anti-drug authorities.

"The drugs came from Colombia," said police chief Tanya Varela.

They are presumably intended for transport to Mexico or the USA.

The market value of the confiscated drug was estimated at $ 450 million.

The cocaine was therefore hidden in a shop that sells water.

There the officers also came across firearms and around 2,800 rounds of ammunition.

Two people were arrested.

The authorities had already found 500 kilos of cocaine in the same location in July and arrested five people.

In the past year, the Ecuadorian anti-drug police had confiscated a total of 128 tons of drugs.

Until then, the highest level of drug seized within a year was 110 tons in 2016.

ala / AFP