After the declaration of a state of emergency and internal war in Ecuadormassive presence Army And Police on the streets it caused massive drug seizures. A few days ago, 22 tons of drugs were found in the dungeons of the city of Vinces. largest item seized. But the struggle is taking place not only on land, but also at sea, especially near the strategic port of Guayaquil, from where the Ecuadorian correspondent RFI accompanied the coast guard on patrol.

The Coast Guard call is visible from the entrance to its base south of Guayaquilmain drug export ports in the world. Nowadays, visitors are surprised by what appears to be a pocket submarine, but not by its commander, which must remain anonymous for security reasons.

“Traffickers have evolvedcame from small fishing boats speed boatswhich have very high speeds, from 40 to 50 knots, and later on semi-submersibles“, Explain.

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In addition to drug containers sitting on land at one of Guayaquil’s eight port terminals, drug traffickers also practice blind hook technique when boarding a ship bound for the ocean. This is difficult territory to control, according to the officer, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, aboard a patrol car.

“The port area is very close to the urban area, which in turn is close to mangroves, to the islands of the Gulf of Guayaquil. It has approximately 75 kilometers of shipping canal for merchant ships. “They enable criminal gangs to carry out their activities,” he says.

Commando teams usually escort ships in the bay. They also fight against pirates hunting fishermen. That day, an inspection of the barge, on which eight trucks were loading 40 tons of shrimp, did not reveal any violations. His comrades from Esmeraldas in the north of the country had better luck a few days ago when they captured a semi-submersible with more than three tons of drugs.

(RFI)