Ecuadorian nationals were detained on the high seas by ‘gringo’ sailors COURTESY
Ecuadorian fishing boat loaded with liquid cocaine was detained
Marcelo Gutierrez
February 03, 2021
Ecuadorian flagged vessel was detained on the high seas. According to authorities, inside the boat, liquid cocaine was found in hundreds of cans.
Twenty-two Ecuadorians were detained on the high seas by members of the United States Navy. According to the US uniformed officers, they had found several liters of substances subject to control inside an Ecuadorian-flagged ship, the Ecuadorian Navy reported.
The Ecuadorian navy, through a press release, assured that said vessel is the fishing vessel named ‘Portugal’, the same one that would have set sail from the city of Manta several days ago.
In the communiqué, the Ecuadorian naval force stated that the detained compatriots and the evidence had planned to be delivered by the “gringo” sailors to their Ecuadorian counterpart, on the night of Wednesday, February 3.
And that they were going to be delivered to the orders of the judicial authorities of Galapagos at the dock of the Insular Aquatic Spaces Directorate, on the morning of Thursday, February 4.
Read the coverage from Extra at https://www.extra.ec/noticia/actualidad/barco-pesquero-ecuatoriano-carga-cocaina-liquida-47843.html
The Ecuadorians arrested were on board the fishing boat ‘Portugal’. Photo: Twitter Armada del Ecuador
US Coast Guard detain 22 Ecuadorians aboard a boat carrying liquid drugs
February 3, 2021 7:56 PM
Fernando Medina
22 Ecuadorians were detained on the high seas by a United States Coast Guard unit . The news was confirmed by the Ecuadorian Navy this Wednesday, February 3, 2021.
The first official reports indicate that national citizens were intercepted in international waters when they were traveling in a fishing boat . Upon inspection, the US Coast Guard discovered that a tank containing a substance, presumed to be liquid cocaine, was being carried on the vessel .
The interception of the ship was reported to the Ecuadorian authorities . The delivery of the suspects was scheduled for Wednesday at 20:00 at 75 nautical miles from Puerto Baquerizo Moreno . Then, the crew will be transferred to the Galapagos for the Prosecutor’s Office and the Police to carry out the respective legal procedures .
They will inquire the total weight of the substance and the destination to which they were going. Information from the Navy indicates that the fishing boat was last seen off the coast of Manta , in Manabí .
Read the coverage from El Comercio at https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/guardacostas-eeuu-detencion-ecuatorianos-droga.html
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