The National Anti-Narcotics Department specified that from the total 70 percent was confiscated in the Guayas province, in Guayaquil, the main port and one of the most frequent points for illegal drug trafficking attempts.

The Police added that precisely in the eight port facilities of the country, seizures amount to 50 tons in 84 operations carried out in 2021.

In the last 24 hours alone, raids at various points left 23 detainees and 129.5 kilograms of drugs seized.

In the context of the fight against drug trafficking, authorities also report the detection of more than 30 clandestine runways since 2003, used for the take-off and landing of light aircraft.

Most of these facilities were found in Manabí, Guayas and Santa Elena and, according to investigations, they operated on weekends, from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. local time.

Cocaine and marijuana, in that order, are the most common drugs in Ecuador, where they are stocked and transported to Central America, Europe and the United States, the largest consumer worldwide.

To reinforce the fight against trafficking by detecting the presence of narco-planes, the national government installed a radar in city of Montecristi, in Manabí, which only operated for 12 days, as it suffered damage after an explosion registered at dawn on last November 7.

pgh/lcr