DNCD seizes 674 tins containing suspected cocaine disguised as beans at Puerto Caucedo
The DNCD confiscated 674 tins containing what is presumed to be cocaine hidden in a container bound for Portugal. Two men were arrested during the operation.
Operation in Caucedo thwarts shipment of drug concealed in tins bound for Portugal
The National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD) confiscated 674 tins concealing hermetically sealed packages containing a substance presumed to be cocaine, inside a container destined to depart from the Multimodal Port of Caucedo in Boca Chica, with Portugal as its destination. This was reported by infobae.com on Tuesday, citing the official statement from the agency. Two men were arrested during the intervention.
The operation brought together DNCD agents, representatives of the Public Ministry, State intelligence bodies, personnel from the General Directorate of Customs and military personnel. The authorities acted on the basis of intelligence reports that warned of irregularities in a consolidated export shipment.
According to the DNCD, the container was transporting tinned products that appeared to be beans. During the inspection, teams found hundreds of containers holding hermetically sealed packages covered with transparent plastic and carbon paper, placed inside the receptacles to make detection difficult during logistical inspections.
The agency stated that the method used consisted of the substitution or contamination of a consolidated shipment, a technique employed by international drug trafficking networks to conceal the movement of drugs within legitimate merchandise. "The trade names and the manufacturing companies of the food products have no connection whatsoever with the case," the DNCD specified in its statement.
The 674 tins were sent to the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (Inacif), which is to determine whether the contents effectively correspond to cocaine and to establish its exact weight. The DNCD did not specify the total volume of the substance found.
In addition to the two detainees, whose identities were not disclosed, the authorities seized a cab-over-engine truck that is presumed to have been used to transport the container, as well as two mobile phones and documents that were incorporated into the investigation. The arrested individuals remain in the custody of the authorities for a possible submission to the courts for presumed violation of Dominican Republic Law 50-88 on Drugs and Controlled Substances.
The DNCD and the Public Ministry expanded investigations to identify other individuals linked to the preparation, transport and export of the shipment. The inquiries seek to determine at what point the contamination of the containers occurred and what the logistical structure behind the shipment was.
The results of Inacif's analysis will be key to supporting charges against the detainees and establishing the scale of the case. The DNCD emphasised that it maintains permanent inspection operations at maritime and air terminals, with support from other institutions, to detect attempts to export narcotics concealed in commercial shipments.
Source: Google News DO — Crime