Ecuadorian prosecutors and police have detained 11 people in an investigation into an alleged drug-trafficking network that authorities believe used export containers to send drugs abroad.
The operation took place in the early hours of Tuesday 10 November across the provinces of Guayas, Manabí and Pichincha, the prosecutor’s office said. The suspects are being investigated over alleged organised crime linked to large-scale drug trafficking.
Properties were searched in Guayaquil, Daule and Playas in Guayas; San Vicente in Manabí; and Quito in Pichincha. Authorities said they collected mobile phones, documents, ammunition and cash, and retained several vehicles as part of the inquiry.
The detentions and the collection of items are investigative steps, not findings of guilt. In the initial information made public, authorities did not identify the people detained or specify the quantity of drugs allegedly transported. The reported searches were not accompanied by a stated quantity of drugs seized in those raids.
How the alleged method works
Prosecutors say the suspected network used a technique known locally as gancho ciego, or blind hook. It involves placing illicit goods in a legitimate export container without the knowledge of the business responsible for the shipment.
The allegation concerns the use of commercial cargo to reach overseas markets. It does not establish that the exporter knowingly took part, or that any particular business was involved in the conduct under investigation.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has described the wider practice, also called “rip-on/rip-off”, as the exploitation of legitimate shipments. It has warned that people within a supply chain can be involved knowingly or unknowingly, and that some may face threats. Those general observations are not findings about the individuals detained in Ecuador.
In a separate international operation in late 2022, authorities from 58 countries worked together on container trafficking. The UN office said the blind-hook method appeared in 107 reported container cases during that operation. Those cases and figures do not relate to the November investigation.
Port security and reporting
Ecuador has previously sought to improve the way agencies share information about organised crime and maritime security. In January, officials inaugurated an intelligence fusion centre in Guayaquil under an Ecuadorian-European cooperation project. Ecuador’s national police and navy participate in the centre.
The project also aims to strengthen security around Guayaquil’s ports. Partners have worked on cooperation between public authorities and private operators, reflecting the fact that a shipment can pass through several hands before it leaves a port.
A separate anonymous reporting platform was presented in July for people with information about suspicious activity affecting Ecuadorian ports. It was designed in part for port workers, transporters and others in the logistics chain, allowing reports without creating an account or supplying personal details.
The platform is intended to help people share information when they may be worried about reprisals. It does not automatically open a criminal case. Neither the centre nor the reporting platform has been presented in the initial information about Tuesday’s raids as a source of the investigation.
For the 11 people detained, the investigation concerns suspected conduct; their individual involvement remains a matter for the authorities to establish. No conviction should be inferred from the operation.
