Ecuador receives scanners from the US and will use them on the borders with Colombia and Peru

He National Customs Service of Ecuador (Senae) received this Monday from the US Embassy in Quito a set of four scanners that will be used on the land borders with Colombia and Peru to strengthen security and anti-drug controls.

The delivery was made at the facilities of the Quito airport with the presence of the Ministers of the Interior, Juan Zapata, and Defense, Luis Lara, together with the director for Ecuador of the United States Bureau of Drug Enforcement AffairsLiv Kilpatrick, and the director of the Senae, Carola Ríos.

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The scanners will be used in temporary warehouses, ports, airports and border crossings to detect not only drugs, but also other contraband, currency trafficking and illegal trade in goods and species, according to a statement from the Ministry of Interior.

Zapata pointed out that “Ecuador is considered a connection center for international traffic” of drugs due to his “geopositioning and international connection, through its maritime and air routes, facilitate the distribution of illicit merchandise to consumer markets around the world”.

In recent years, Ecuador has gained weight in drug trafficking routes through its ports, mainly that of Guayaquilwhich has become one of the great springboards for cocaine that reaches North America and Europe from South America.

He Minister of the Interior of Ecuador reported that between 2015 and 2022 approximately 141 tons of drugs were seized in the port of GuayaquilThanks to the work of the National Police.

#Country: @USembassyEC ????delivered scanners to the @SENAE_Customsto strengthen customs controls in #Ecuador. ⬇ pic.twitter.com/rP5kdGnhNw

– Vision TV (@vtv_ecuador) April 24, 2023

Likewise, he pointed out that more than half (52%) of the drugs seized in the period 2020-2023 in ports have been in banana export shipments, with 93.91 tons.

The director of the SenaeCarola Ríos, stated that the inter-institutional agreements signed with National Police and Armed forces They will allow to exercise better controls of exit and entrance of goods to the country.

“The equipment will be delivered to the Customs Surveillance Corps on the northern border (with Colombia) and on the southern border (with Peru)”he expressed.

Ecuador It is the third country in the world where more narcotics are seized, only behind Colombia and USAaccording to the last United Nations Office on Drugs (UNODC) World Drug Report.

Since the beginning of 2023, around 50 tons of drugs have been seized, a trend that is on track to close the year with more than 200 tons, as already happened in 2021 and 2022.

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Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.