Dominican Republic authorities reported Friday that that country’s anti-drug agency seized 9.5 tons of suspected cocaine, what they considered the largest shipment in its history.
The discovery occurred the day before in the port of Caucedo, in Santo Domingo, the most important in the country.
“With an estimated value of 250 million dollars,” said the spokesman for the National Drug Control Directorate, Carlos Devers, during a press conference.
Devers explained that the intervention occurred when the shipment, which arrived in a container of bananas from Guatemala, was going to be loaded on a ship bound for Belgium.
Authorities said that international cooperation was key to this seizure, for which 10 people linked to the port were arrested.
The largest shipment detected in the Dominican Republic prior to this was 2,582 kilos, in 2006, also in the port of Caucedo.
From January 2024 to date, Dominican authorities have seized 46.7 tons of drugs, while in 2023, the amount seized was 25,042 kilos, that is, just over 25 tons.
In September 2024, US President Joe Biden pointed out in a memorandum the Dominican Republic as one of the countries with the most drug trafficking and production on the continent.
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