Colombian National Police seized 2.2 tons of marijuana on the Panamericana highway between Pasto and the Rumichaca international bridge on the Ecuadorian border.
Investigators concluded that the shipment originated in Piendamó, Cauca, and would pass through Ipiales before crossing into Ecuador.
This seizure fits a pattern of gangs concealing massive shipments in single trucks with just a driver and no escort, an effort to slip one big load through the border.
Two other large shipments of marijuana on the same stretch of road include a 323-kilo seizure on 3 November (although not heading to Ecuador) and a 240-kilo seizure on 10 September. In another incident in December, authorities found 322 kilos of marijuana stashed in a warehouse in Pasto.
Authorities described several of these shipments as originating in the neighbouring department of Cauca.
Criminals often move narcotics from Colombia into Ecuador to be transported northwards via the port in Guayaquil, a location with its own share of massive narcotics seizures.
Colombia’s border regions with Ecuador, especially the region around Pasto, are therefore a critical artery for drug trafficking and are heavily policed, which may explain high-risk shipments like the one intercepted yesterday.
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