More than 1.3 tons of cocaine seized in El Salvador

(CNN Spanish) – El Salvador authorities seized more than 1.3 tons of cocaine and detained one Colombian, two Ecuadorians and three Mexicans during the procedure, the Attorney General’s Office reported.

The seizure is the largest to date in international waters, according to the Prosecutor’s Office, and, although it arrived on the mainland this Wednesday, it was carried out on July 31 at about 490 nautical miles off the Salvadoran coast.

The Minister of Justice and Security of El Salvador, Gustavo Villatoro, said this Thursday that it is a strong blow to organized crime.

“Internally we are also determined to continue fighting head-on drug dealing and drug trafficking. We know the homicidal violence that this crime generates and leads consumers to death or to the hospital,” Villatoro said in a press conference.

Elements of the El Salvador Naval Force were responsible for the operation, which was carried out when the suspects transferred at least 70 packages of drugs from one boat to another, after suffering damage.

“The amount of 1,370 kilograms of cocaine seized has been counted. This in the market has a value of US $ 34,250,000,” El Salvador’s Defense Minister Francis Merino Monroy reported.

The authorities assure that they have requested information from Ecuador, Colombia and Mexico about the detainees. The suspects will be accused in El Salvador of the crime of illicit drug trafficking. According to the head of the Specialized Unit, in the next few days the formal request will be presented to the corresponding courts.