ECUADOR - There were more than the usual maritime suspects aboard a ship docked at a port in Ecuador this week, with counter-narcotics police uncovering illicit substances tucked away in cargo. The Ecuadorian Ministry of the Interior reported that unknown persons snuck aboard the ship and hid over 650 pounds of cocaine within boxes of bananas, according to the Maritime Herald.
“Supposedly, after handcuffing the crew member who made the case known, the strangers proceeded to contaminate with 298 packages (652.5 pounds), brick type, one of the containers that was on the deck of the ship, which was destined for New Zealand,” the Ministry reported.
Authorities were first alerted after a crew member informed the captain of the ship that unknown persons had access to the site where the containers were placed before loading. Police dogs then sniffed out the scene, uncovering that a fruit export company’s container seal had been tampered with.
While the boxes have since been purified and now contain only bananas once again, police have not tracked down the suspects.
“The case is being investigated, until we determine the details of how the contamination was carried out, which could have been in the quarantine area, as the area near the Maritime Port of Guayaquil is known,” one of the police officers said on the scene.
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