It’s the biggest of the year.
Hong Kong customs agents discovered $31.7 million of cocaine stashed inside an aircraft engine shipped from Ecuador, making the weekend coke bust the biggest of its kind this year.The engine, which arrived in March in a shipping container, raised concern among customs officers, as jet engines are rarely shipped from South America, the receiver never collected the cargo and an X-ray revealed a strange shape, according to theThe officers discovered a secret compartment within the engine that contained eight containers a total of 217 kilograms of the illegal drug.
Though Hong Kong’s Customs Drug Investigation Bureau believes that some of the cocaine was intended for local consumption, much was to be shipped to other countries. This is the largest cocaine bust globally of 2020, though earlier this month, the U.S. Navy intercepted a vessel withThe cocaine economy, worth north of $100 billion, has reportedly adapted with greater efficiency to the pandemic than many other legitimate businesses, according to the Organized Crime And Corruption Reporting“The cocaine trade is thriving in a world where even mainstays like oil are facing major disruptions,” says thewith producers making over 2,000 metric tons of cocaine yearly, according to OCCRP. And trafficking has flourished amid the pandemic: April and March cocaine seizures dropped by 80% year-over-year in coronavirus-ravished Italy, while the street price of the drug in the country increased between 20% to 30%. The drug itself is increasingly cut with cheap, addictive and dangerous substances, making it less expensive to produce and more deadly for users. And while street sales have decreased, sales on the dark web—where seller origin and buyer identity is hard to trace—have increased by 30% worldwide. In Europe, customers are getting the drug dropped on their doorstep by dealers disguised as food couriers or other essential workers.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Here's What One American Family Saw While Driving Cross-Country During The PandemicOne family continues their big move from Brooklyn to L.A., despite the conditions, documenting the stories of the amazing people they meet along the way.
Read more »
Taiwan's Tsai pledges support for people of Hong Kong after China proposes national security lawTaiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said Sunday evening that the self-ruled democratic island 'stands with the people of Hong Kong' as she pledged 'necessary assistance' to Hong Kongers who need help.
Read more »
Hong Kong protesters have promised a 'miracle' but China's national security law seems impossible to stopThe last British colonial governor of Hong Kong, six US senators including Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, and numerous UK, European Union, Australian and New Zealand members of parliament are among the signatories to an open letter slamming the bill
Read more »
News Brief: Pandemic Death Toll, Hong Kong Protests, Florida LawU.S. approaches nearly 100,000 deaths from COVID-19. Thousands in Hong Kong protest planned security law. A federal judge rules Florida law restricting voting rights for felons is unconstitutional.
Read more »
Here's What One American Family Saw While Driving Cross-Country During The PandemicOne family continues their big move from Brooklyn to L.A., despite the conditions, documenting the stories of the amazing people they meet along the way.
Read more »