Ecuadorian authorities began the process of destroying some 22 tons of cocaine seized in recent days on Thursday.
The Ecuadorian government on Thursday began the process of destroying nearly 22 tonnes of cocaine seized at the start of the week, the largest seizure ever made in the country, in a context of extreme tension against drug traffickers.
In the images broadcast in our video we can see a truck surrounded by a large contingent of soldiers armed with weapons and a group of people wearing protective suits, glasses and masks unloading the packages.
The Interior Ministry indicated on its X account, formerly Twitter, that in accordance with a court decision the drug would be destroyed using the “encapsulation” technique. A method which consists of pulverizing the alkaloids which are then mixed with cement and lime before being crushed.
The concrete mixture is then placed in safety cells or basins which, according to technical and environmental requirements, must be 15 meters deep, 60 meters long and 40 meters wide.
According to Ecuadorian authorities, the country has become a center for storing and exporting drugs, particularly cocaine, to markets in the United States and Europe.