Ecuadorian authorities have seized three tons of drugs, a quantity they say belonged to the Albanian mafia, which has established relationships with Colombian and Mexican drug cartels, as well as gangs in the country.
The seizure of this amount of cocaine was officially announced yesterday in Quito. The Ministry of Defense described the operation as a "major blow to the Albanian mafia" .
The drugs were seized after a raid on a farm in the southwestern city of Guayaquil, a major port and a vital hub for drug trafficking to the US and European markets.
#ATTENTION ||
— Policía Ecuador (@PoliciaEcuador) July 3, 2025
CINCO APPREHENDIDOS, INTEGRANTES DE LA ESTRUCTURA CRIMINAL MAFIA ALBANESA, TRAS UN OPERATIVO CONTRA EL NARCOTRÁFICO EN #GUAYAS
Mediante tecniques investigativas y operativas, nuestras unidades localaron y allanaron un inmueble (hacienda) in la parroquia Chongón,… pic.twitter.com/G0WFVor9yH
"Police and army officers discovered drugs in boxes of bananas," Guayaquil police chief Victor Ordonies told the media.
During the operation, "five individuals suspected of links to the Albanian mafia" were arrested, the Ministry of Defense added via 'X'.
Authorities in the Latin American country, through which 73% of the cocaine produced worldwide passes, recorded record seizures in 2024, around 294 tons, compared to 221 in 2023.
In recent years, Ecuador has ceased to be an oasis of peace and tranquility between Colombia and Peru, the two countries with the largest cocaine production in the world.
Violence, which is primarily related to drug trafficking, has caused the homicide rate to increase significantly, from 6 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2018 to 38/100,000 in 2024, after recording a tragic record. (A2 Televizion)
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