According to the Panamanian Ministry of Public Security on August 29, 2022 the Panamanian government sent 55.7 tons of cocaine to Philadelphia to be destroyed. This news may sound familiar because in 2019 a ship with between 16.5 and 20 tons of cocaine ported in Philadelphia, resulting in several arrests.
Here is the statement made by the Panamanian Ministry of Public Security:
Panama sent to Philadelphia, United States 55.7 tons of cocaine accumulated in the warehouses of the security forces, as a result of operational and police actions.
This is the second shipment that the Panamanian government makes to the United States for the destruction of drugs, with the purpose of eliminating the contamination caused every time the drug is burned in the open air. The first shipment was made on August 29, 2022, as part of a cooperation agreement signed with the United States Embassy.
In the presence of the Minister of Public Security, Juan Manuel Pino, the Vice Minister of Public Security, Ivor Pitti, directors of the security forces and representatives of the United States Embassy in Panama, this shipment was carried out on an Air Force plane, that left the Octavio Garrido Air Base of the National Aeronaval Service in Punta Pacífica. Minister Pino indicated that in the United States there is an inter-institutional team and another is going with the load to attest to this destruction. He added that for this year, one of the priority projects is to have a drug incinerator for the country, a procedure that is also used by authorities in Costa Rica and has been effective and convenient.
Statement by the Ministerio de Seguridad Pública
Neither the US DOJ, nor the Ministerio de Seguridad Pública responded to the Philly Plain Dealer’s request for comment.
VladTV originally broke this story: https://www.vladtv.com/article/290637/panama-sends-55-7-tons-of-stolen-cocaine-to-the-us-drugs-will-be
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