In what is considered a new form of international drug trafficking, agents of the National Directorate of Drug Control (DNCD), supported by members of the Specialised Security Corps (CESAC) and coordinated by members of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, seized 162 pieces of pottery, which simulated lemons stuffed with cocaine, during inspection work, carried out at the International Airport of the Americas.
As part of the reinforcement of the operations, the agents and soldiers were carrying out multiple interdictions in the area of cargo and air transport of goods, when through one of the X-ray machines, suspicious images were detected inside a container, which would be taken to Europe.
Then, the cargo was inspected by a canine unit, which gave a positive alert to controlled substances.
After opening the container, several boxes were found containing 162 ceramic lemons full of cocaine, with a total weight of 10 kilogrammes of cocaine, as determined in its analysis by the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (INACIF).
“It is the manufacture of ceramic pieces, with the colours, size and other characteristics similar to lemon, a new invention of international drug trafficking networks, to traffic narcotic substances through the country’s air and port terminals,” said the DNCD.
According to the manifesto, the boxes were sent by a company located in Las Matas de Santa Cruz, Montecristi province and would be received by a company dedicated to purchasing and selling products, with an address on Grote Pieter Street, Belgium.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office and the DNCD have opened an investigation in relation to the frustrated shipment of cocaine, which highlights the operational capacity of the agents in the face of the ingenuity of the criminal structures that seek to circumvent the controls of the security agencies.
