More than half a tonne of marijuana has been seized by Ecuadorian cops in the coastal province of Esmeraldas, which borders with Colombia.

The region is increasingly becoming the main starting point for drugs entering the US and Europe.

The latest discovery occurred in the San Mateo sector when anti-drug squad agents inspected a van in which they found several jute bags with 624 brick-type packages, weighing more than 760 kilos, later confirmed to be marijuana.

The Police reported on their X account (formerly Twitter) that the seized drugs represent 1,215,000 doses that would now be removed from sale on the streets.

This seizure is in addition to another one of nearly a tonne of cocaine, with Europe as its final destination, reported by the Police on Sunday, 10th December.

This seizure took place within the framework of the operation called ‘Pandora,’ in which agents of the National Police intervened in a property located in La Libertad province of Santa Elena.

In a statement obtained by local courts, a spokesman said: “After the raid, a citizen was arrested, and more than 922 kilogrammes of cocaine were seized, hidden in 791 packages in a tanker.”

In recent years, Ecuador has become a key point on the drug trafficking route, as mafias use Ecuadorian seaports, such as Guayaquil, to send a large amount of drugs to consumer markets in the United States and Europe.