2023-04-23 22:16:32
Photo: EFE
Text: Hugo Leon
The Cuban authorities identified and dismantled an organized group of Cubans residing abroad in an attempt to introduce more than 300 kilograms of marijuana, amphetamines and cocaine into the island.
Preliminarily, there are 26 defendants in the case and it was learned that the group tried to transport that drug both by air and by sea.
As part of the operation, close to nine million pesos, a firearm and means of transportation such as cars, electric motorcycles and speedboats were seized, according to the report by Cuban Television.
The Ministry of the Interior (Minint) reported that the investigations began after the detection by border guard troops of more than 114 kilograms of marijuana in the coastal municipality of Bahía Honda, in Artemisa.
The attempt was part of an alleged double operation, which included human trafficking and the introduction of drugs into Cuban territory.
In the case of the air channel, “mules” or “drug couriers” were used to introduce drugs through electrical appliances such as rice cookers, induction cookers, and microwave ovens.
In addition, the drug was introduced into the batteries of electric motorcycles that were sent from Mexico as unaccompanied cargo.
These shipments would reach “name lenders” who were to receive the merchandise, extract the drug and then be in charge of selling it in the country, indicated the source from the MININT Technical Department of Investigations (DTI).
According to the official, it was an innovative method due to the use of motorcycle batteries and reiterated Cuba’s position of “zero tolerance” on drugs.
The General Customs of the Republic and the MININT worked jointly in the drug detection operation.
Despite being an island, and although its geographical position places Cuba in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, in general the authorities do not report very frequently arrests of groups of this nature, although only in the first half of 2022 Cuban Customs reported 11 cases of attempted drug trafficking, a figure that equaled the total for 2021.
#Drug #trafficking #network #Cuba #detected #dismantled