Peruvian law enforcement said this week it had seized more than two tons of marijuana Cocaine which was bound for Türkiye.
Reuters reports That “the seizure of the drugs took place on Friday at a warehouse in Peru’s largest port, El Callao, outside the capital, Lima.”
“This is the first incident we know of (where the cargo was) in Peruvian ports and its final destination was Turkey. Usually we are aware of ports in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and France,” said El Callao Police Chief Colonel Luis Angel Bolaños. According to what was reported by Reuters.
According to Reuters, police “displayed cocaine that had been affixed to rubber sheets to make it appear as hundreds of ceramic tiles packed into wooden crates inside a shipping container” during a news conference on Monday.
News Service reported Bolanos said the cocaine seized was worth “at least $20 million”.
The Andean country seized a record 86.4 tons of drugs and illegal substances last year, 28 tons of which were cocaine hydrochloride, according to police data. According to Reuters. Peru and neighboring Colombia are among the world’s largest producers of cocaine and the coca leaf it is made from, according to the United Nations. Production in Peru grows mostly along the border with Brazil in the Ucayali region, where coca leaf crops have nearly doubled in two years to 10,229 hectares (25,276 acres) in 2021, according to Peruvian authorities.
last year, The White House released a report on cocaine production in South America, including Peru.
“The United States recognizes the Government of Peru’s commitment to reducing coca cultivation and cocaine production. Estimated coca cultivation and cocaine production in Peru declined but remained high at 84,400 hectares and 785 metric tons, respectively. The current level of coca cultivation highlights the importance of returning to eradication levels before the pandemic, while investing in a holistic approach that seeks to provide safety, security, and opportunity for rural Peruvians,” said the White House.
“The Biden-Harris administration is committed to continuing to work closely with our South American partners to address the common challenge we face in drug production, trafficking and use,” said Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. . “As part of President Biden’s National Drug Strategy, we are pursuing policies that expand access to the continuum of care for drug use, go after drug dealers and their profits, as well as address the root causes of participation in the illegal economy in coca-growing areas, such as poverty, insecurity and lack of access to services. “.
Meanwhile, Turkey has become “a global hub for the cocaine trade in South America, driving demand for the drug in Eastern Europe and the Persian Gulf, according to organized crime experts.” Vice I mentioned last year.
A two-part analysis by InSight Crime, an investigative organization, published today and last week reveals that gangs in Turkey, a country best known for its major role in smuggling heroin between Afghanistan and Europe, now have significant interests in the cocaine trade. Vicewho said that Turkey’s increased involvement in the trade came “when South American cocaine producers needed a new eastward route for their product, much of which had been seized to go to Western Europe.”
Turkish gangs were drawn to the cocaine trade because of their maritime expertise, diminishing profits from heroin due to low wholesale prices, growing demand for cocaine in poorly supplied parts of Eastern Europe and the Middle East, and closer links between Turkish criminals – including the far-right Gray Wolves and cartels in America. Latin,” Vice mentioned. As a result, Turkish smugglers have become major players in supplying cocaine from South America to emerging markets in Russia and the Balkans and a new desert cocaine route through northern Iraq to the Persian Gulf, according to the research.
