HomeNewsBriefEcuador Seizes $3 Million in Smuggled Goods at Colombia Border
BRIEF

Ecuador Seizes $3 Million in Smuggled Goods at Colombia Border

COLOMBIA / 5 AUG 2013 BY MARGUERITE CAWLEY EN

Ecuadorean authorities confiscated $3 million in smuggled goods during the first six months of 2013 at a new checkpoint on the border with Colombia, yet unofficial border crossings continue to fuel the contraband trade in the region.

In 270 separate actions, authorities from the National Customs Service of Ecuador working at new installations in the Carchi department seized goods including clothes, food, cigarettes, cell phones and medicine that did not have the proper documentation, reported El Comercio.

At other checkpoints, seizures have also been made of large contraband shipments of rice, gasoline, electronics, liquor and cement and of items including ammunition, explosives and drugs.

Ecuador's armed forces also reported that over 25 unofficial border crossings exist in the 176 kilometers of shared border between Colombia's Nariño department and Carchi, mainly along the Carchi and Bobo Rivers. Though the majority of these are locally constructed basic wooden bridges held up by steel cables, former Army Commander Mauricio Silva reported that up to 15 cylinders of gasoline can be seized at these illegal crossings in a week.

News channel Ecuavisa separately reported in late May that at least 64 such crossings exist across the entire length of the shared border.

InSight Crime Analysis

The seizures at the new border checkpoint provide one window into the host of illegal activities taking place along the Ecuador-Colombia border, while the sheer number of illegal crossings makes it clear that authorities are catching but a small portion of the goods passing through.

Though many illegal border crossings are informal and locally constructed, they not only provide an easy route for contraband smugglers but also are used by the guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to resupply from local towns and take advantage of the porous border to bring trafficked weapons into Colombia

The illicit border crossings may also be one of the factors fuelling the migration of drug crops. While still on a small scale compared to neighboring Colombian regions, coca cultivation has been creeping across the border into Ecuador -- an activity that is also likely linked to the FARC rebels.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

BOLIVIA / 13 AUG 2021

The US Coast Guard unloaded 27 tons of cocaine after a three-month operation in the Pacific and Caribbean, a massive…

COCA / 12 JUL 2022

The historic publication of the Final Report from Colombia’s Truth Commission has crystallized the core issues that president-elect Gustavo Petro…

ARGENTINA / 1 FEB 2022

In 2021, most countries in Latin America and the Caribbean experienced a marked increase in murders. Resurgent violence was to…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

All Eyes on Ecuador

2 JUN 2023

Our coverage of organized crime in Ecuador continues to be a valuable resource for international and local news outlets. Internationally, Reuters cited our 2022 Homicide Round-Up,…

WORK WITH US

Open Position: Social Media and Engagement Strategist

27 MAY 2023

InSight Crime is looking for a Social Media and Engagement Strategist who will be focused on maintaining and improving InSight Crime’s reputation and interaction with its audiences through publishing activities…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.