Historic milestone. More than 100 tons of cocaine were seized globally during the course of 2020, which is an unprecedented record, considering the restrictions imposed by the pandemic and the new forms of organized crime, announced the United Nations and the World Customs Organization.
“In the face of the logistical and operational constraints arising from COVID-19, on the one hand, and in the face of new forms of organized crime, which continue to use the containerized trade supply chain in various ways to support their criminal activities, the progress of the Global Container Control Program is still measurable and significant,” states the preamble of the annual report of the UNODC-WCO Container Control Programme.
Customs seizures
At the head of the seizures were Colombia with 32 tons, Ecuador with 23,5 tons and Brazil with 16 tons, all destined for European and Asian markets. Of similar importance were the seizures of cocaine in Central America, which involved several uncovered operations and shipments to North America.
In addition, last December, a group of 100 people were kidnapped in Bolivia 16.000 liters of chemical precursors. The shipment came from Chile, disguised as a shipment of branded motor oil containing acetone, a raw material for the production of cocaine and for the manufacture of explosives.
At the same time, anti-narcotics units in Paraguay reported their largest cocaine seizure in history, when authorities in coordination with the Port Control Unit confiscated a shipment of drugs hidden in several containers carrying loads of biochar (biomass charcoal). The shipment of around 2.300 kilograms was destined for Israel and the Middle East, with prior maritime transit through ports in Argentina and Belgium.
Key ports
The main ports where the Container Control Program operates, and which are most frequently used for the transshipment of narcotics and illicit substances from Latin America, are Santos (Brazil), Buenaventura and Cartagena (Colombia), Guayaquil y Bolívar (Ecuador).
It should be remembered that customs are part of the Global Container Control Program, carried out by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Customs Organization, which includes 100 countries, including 18 from Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname) and 5 international organizations, coordinating tasks and exchanging information in the fight against illicit trade.
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