The source stated that drug shipments are hidden in containers leaving Ecuador’s maritime ports, mainly to European countries.

Local authorities did not reveal owners’ identity or their names of the legally constituted companies; however, they detailed that behind these business groups are Albanian citizens who entered Ecuador in 2009 as investors to buy or create companies.

On Thursday, the National Anti-Drug Investigation Directorate here asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock to call off the companies’ export licenses that are repeat offenders in drug trafficking cases.

The boom of these illegal activities in Ecuador is due to the nation’s geographical position, right between Colombia and Peru, two of the world’s main cocaine producers, and for having ports considered functional for drug trafficking.

Another factor that makes Ecuador an ideal scenario for drug trafficking is the scarce social investments, which encourages many young people to join the mafias in search of income, analysts point out.

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