The National Drug Control Agency (DNCD) reports that so far this year 6.5 tons of cocaine have been seized from drug traffickers. El Dia highlights how the southern coast of the country has become the collection center for large caches of cocaine that are sent by South American cartels to drug trafficking structures along the country’s southern coast for eventual transshipment to the US and Europe.
In March 2024 alone the National Drug Control Agency (DNCD) reports having seized almost four tons of cocaine, of which 2,352 kilograms in the south central Peravia province.
El Dia reports that the volume and consistency with which these shipments are sent suggests that the southern region (San Cristobal, Peravia, Azua, along with Barahona and Pedernales in the southwest) has displaced the eastern region in terms of drug trafficking operations.
On Friday, 22 March 2024, the agency reported the seizing of 754 packages of cocaine in a joint operation off the coast of the Peravia province. The cargo weighed 545.27 kilograms, according to the analysis carried out by the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (INACIF). The smaller size of the packages is reportedly to facilitate the transport.
The cache was occupied after an operation of more than 15 hours to intercept a Go-Fast type vessel that had intended to enter Dominican territory. Two Dominicans were arrested in the operation.
On Monday, 7 March 2024, the DNCD seized 1,013 kilograms of cocaine distributed in 984 packages on the same coast of the Peravia province. Three Venezuelans were arrested in that case. About 24 hours later, the anti-narcotics agency seized another shipment of 794.76 kilograms of cocaine through a joint operation again in Peravia province.
The authorities have detected several structures in the southern region that have been replacing those in the east in receiving drug shipments as a bridge to the United States and Europe.
Among the bosses who are said to be operating in the area are relatives of former drug traffickers, as well as extradited individuals who returned to the country repatriated after serving their sentences in the United States.
So far this year, the DNCD reports that the largest stash of cocaine seized this year by the anti-narcotics agency was the 1,448 kilograms seized on the coast of the province of La Romana.
In the last three years, Dominican authorities have seized 26 more tons of different drugs than in the 16 years before the change of government in 2020.
Read more in Spanish:
National Drug Control Agency
El Dia
25 March 2024