Drugs Labeled With Pablo Escobar's Image Seized in Chile
Authorities in Chile have confiscated more than three tons of cocaine and marijuana packed in white paper stamped with the image of deceased Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar.
Pablo Escobar led the Medellín Cartel, known to be one of the world's most powerful drug cartels, especially in the 80s and 90s. He founded the crime organization in the mid-70s, and his most notable partners included the Ochoa brothers.
Chilean authorities said that the confiscated Pablo Escobar-adorned drugs on Friday were a first in Chile. But similar packages were also confiscated by police along the coast of Honduras earlier this year, Reuters reported.
"Criminal organizations always put a stamp on (their product), something distinctive, for traceability, to ensure that large shipments reach their destination," Hector Espinosa, director general of Chile's PDI investigative police, said in the report.
The drug bust also saw the arrest of six people and confiscation of 14 vehicles, different weapons, and several cellphones.
Police said the drugs were apprehended near Arica, a remote region that has grown to become an area for smugglers both of contraband and people. Police added that the seized products were from Bolivia, according to a US News report.
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The Same Incident
In 2018, law enforcement authorities in Peru had seized more than a ton of cocaine with drug packets stamped with the images of drug kingpins Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and Pablo Escobar, according to a Business Insider report. The packets of cocaine were seized around 50 miles north of Lima.
Hector Loayza, chief of Peru's anti-drug police, said the drugs were set to leave Peru near the northern border with Ecuador, with drugs worth $45 million once in Spain. According to authorities, the said markings on the drug packets were an indication of the drugs' purity.
This caused the arrest of 12 people in 2018, with eight Peruvians and four Columbians. None had any links to Pablo Escobar or El Chapo.
Peruvian police have also seized cocaine packets labeled with photos of Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi in his Barcelona uniform. Some were stamped with the coat of arms of Spanish King Philip VI and the Star of David.
Meanwhile, other packages had been marked with images of horses, birds, and dolphins, the Associated Press reported.
Peru is identified as the second-largest producer of cocaine, with most of its drug produced being transported to Europe due to the continent's prices compared to the one in the United States.
Colombia tops the list to produce most of the world's supply of drugs. Bolivia is also on the list of the world's top drug producers.
The 2005's United Nations World Drug Report stated that cannabis has a market value of $141.80 billion. America saw a spike in the increase of the said drug between 2002 and 2009, with surveys indicating that 16.7 million Americans aged 12 and above had taken the drug at least once, according to a Business Pundit article.
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