Overview

• Three men received prison sentences ranging from 10½ to 12½ years for importing and trafficking cocaine, while a fourth was sentenced to 7½ years for aiding and abetting.
• A fifth defendant was acquitted after the court found insufficient evidence to prove he was aware of the cocaine concealed in the shipment.
• The 520 kilograms of cocaine, with a purity exceeding 95%, were valued at a minimum of €25 million and represented over 14 million potential consumption units.
• The drugs were hidden in banana shipments at Puerto Bolívar, Ecuador, in December 2023 and intercepted by German customs in Hamburg on January 4, 2024.
• Despite the convictions, the masterminds behind the smuggling operation remain unidentified, highlighting the challenges of dismantling transnational drug networks.