Police Seize Over 1 Kilo of Cocaine From Cuenca Courier Package Bound for New Jersey

The Seizure

Antinarcotics agents seized 1,300 grams (1.3 kilos) of cocaine from a courier package in Cuenca bound for New Jersey on April 16, according to El Mercurio (source).

The package had arrived in Cuenca from Pasaje (El Oro province) and was being prepared for shipment to the United States.

The Details

Per the article:

• Location: a courier office "ubicado cerca del aeropuerto Mariscal La Mar, en Cuenca"
• Weight: "1.300 gramos (gr) de droga"
• Origin: "llegó desde Pasaje"
• Destination: New Jersey, addressed to a recipient identified as "Guillermo R."
• Sender: "una mujer identificada como Johanna C."

The drugs had been disguised as groceries — per El Mercurio, they were "oculta en una lata de conserva de granos, una lata de encebollado, envolturas de chocolates" and in "un recipiente de avena."

Canned grains. A can of encebollado. Chocolate wrappers. A container of oats.

Who Found It

Agents from the Policía Nacional del Ecuador's antinarcotics unit intercepted the shipment at the courier's facility — "Agentes antinarcóticos de la Policía Nacional del Ecuador decomisaron la encomienda." The package contents were confirmed as cocaine on the scene.

No arrests were mentioned in the initial reporting.

What This Means for You

If you occasionally ship packages home to the U.S. from Cuenca — care packages, birthday gifts, coffee, handicrafts — here's the practical takeaway:

• Courier offices near Mariscal La Mar airport are being actively monitored. The antinarcotics unit's presence there is not an isolated operation. Packages flowing from Cuenca to the U.S. get scrutiny.
• Shipping a package does not mean anyone is accusing you of anything. Expats ship internationally all the time without issue. The story above is a criminal investigation, not a general warning about couriers.
• Keep your declarations accurate. If you're shipping food, label it food. If you're shipping crafts, label them crafts. Customs paperwork is the first line of defense for you, too — vague declarations can hold up a legitimate package for days.
• Use reputable, well-known couriers (DHL, FedEx, UPS, Servientrega for domestic). Smaller unbranded courier offices are more likely to show up in stories like this one, and more likely to go sideways on your own shipment too.

Nothing to be alarmed about if you ship home once in a while. Just a reminder that Cuenca's courier infrastructure is getting attention.

Source: El Mercurio