A new method of transnational drug trafficking was revealed: stowaways were hidden on a ship to transport cocaine to Europe

Two Colombian citizens were hidden in a Ukrainian-flagged vessel with bags containing narcotics which they intended to transport to Spain.

The actions led by the Attorney General’s Office against drug trafficking networks that use the ports of the Colombian Caribbean as a platform for the shipment of narcotics to international destinations, revealed a criminal modus operandi to carry illicit shipments to Europe.

The Technical Investigative Corps (CTI) and the Colombian Navy detected a Ukrainian-flagged vessel that was trying to leave the maritime port of Santa Marta (Magdalena) heading for Valencia (Spain).

Before departing, the officers inspected the vessel and found two men hidden in the chain locker, the space intended to store the anchor chain. In the small compartment they had six bags with several blocks of cocaine hydrochloride that weighed more than 188 kilograms, and also, a diving suit, three satellite communication devices, food and other provisions.

The evidence indicates that these people, apparently, intended to escort the shipment to deliver it in Spain. In this sense, they were arrested in flagrante delicto.

A prosecutor appointed to the Directorate Specialized in the fight against Drug Trafficking brought them to a judge and charged them with trafficking, manufacturing or possession of narcotics.

The defendants, identified as Yeferson Eliecer Angulo Suárez and Edinson Iris Castro, did not plead guilty to the charges.

The Office of the Attorney General makes this information public for reasons of general interest.

The information contained in this press release corresponds to the narration of the objective news provided by the officials in charge of carrying out criminal investigations within the Office of the Attorney General. By the time this communication is disclosed, the legal status of the people mentioned is still pending to be resolved by the competent judicial authority, always under the presumption of innocence contemplated by Article 29 of the Political Constitution and Article 7 of Law 906 of 2004.