Inside a consignment of sugar headed for Belgium, Paraguayan authorities found almost 4 tons of cocaine worth an estimated $240 million, the nation’s anti-drug agency Senad announced on Tuesday. According to Senad, the cocaine bust, known as “Operation Sweetness,” was executed in the harbor of the nation’s capital, Asuncion, and is the biggest in the nation’s history.
Senad stated that more containers are presently being inspected and that “all investigative proceedings are focused on the criminal structure that set in motion the logistics of mobilizing the megaload mainly for the European continent.” Senad added that after “detecting a suspicious shipment,” it coordinated with other government agencies to carry out the drug bust.
Senad’s Minister Jalil Rachid told Paraguayan network ABC that one individual has been detained—a truck driver who allegedly dropped off the narcotics consignment at the ports. May 27, Los Angeles, California On May 27, 2011, in Los Angeles, United States, travelers wait to be scanned at the American Airlines terminal at the beginning of the Memorial Day holiday weekend at Los Angeles International Airport. Over the weekend, more than 35 million people are anticipated to travel.
An airline employee was discovered attempting to carry more than 60 pounds of cocaine. Though he gave few specifics about the investigation, Rachid stated that the cargo was probably the work of an organized criminal cell. After the drug raid, President Santiago Peña of Paraguay informed local media, “Nowadays, drugs don’t leave Paraguay, the drugs are confiscated here in our territory, and now the big challenge is to prevent drugs entering Paraguay, clearly the country is not a cocaine producer.”
According to Peña, the nation serves as a “drug route, and this (bust) is going to discourage (traffickers).” The president declared, “I believe this is a signal to organized crime groups to stop using Paraguay, because they will be met with authorities that are determined.”
