Exposed: How Drug Traffickers are Swallowing Condoms Filled with Liquid Cocaine - Interpol

Traffickers are increasingly swallowing condoms filled with liquid cocaine to cheat traditional detection methods, Interpol said Tuesday as it pointed to West African and Asian gangs driving the Asia-Pacific narcotics trade.

Drug traffickers are increasingly swallowing condoms filled with liquid cocaine

An Interpol-coordinated operation targeting drug trafficking across Asia and the Pacific has identified emerging smuggling routes and concealment methods.

 

Operation Lionfish – ASEAN, which involved more than 2,000 police and customs officials across 14 countries, revealed a network of West African and Asian organized crime groups behind trafficking in methamphetamine – one of the most smuggled drugs in the region.

 

Of the 59 seizures reported so far, nearly a quarter were methamphetamine – totalling approximately 121kg, of which 94 kg was crystalline, known as ‘Ice’.

 

In total some 350 kg, 50 litres and 2,175 tablets of illicit drugs including cocaine, cannabis, heroin and amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) worth an estimated USD 18 million were seized during the two-week operation.

 

In one case, following the discovery of nearly 9 kg of methamphetamine hidden inside a consignment of soft toys, a controlled delivery coordinated by law enforcement in the two countries resulted in the arrest of 13 individuals – seven from various African countries, two Mongolian nationals and four Chinese nationals.

 

During the first week of the operation, authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) identified an increasing trend of liquid cocaine being trafficked.

 

Smugglers would swallow condoms packed with liquid cocaine but unlike other drugs, this type of concealment is harder to detect by traditional x-ray or computed tomography imagery.

 

At the request of the UAE, an Interpol Purple Notice has been issued to all 190 member countries outlining this modus operandi and methods for detection.

 

Many of the arrests made during Operation Lionfish – ASEAN resulted from specific intelligence-sharing, which helped identify a cocaine trafficking route via Ethiopia to destinations in the Middle East, Asia and Pacific.

 

“Operation Lionfish – ASEAN marks a new beginning in our approach to combating illicit drug smuggling through airports in the region. It shows the importance of timely information exchange and it is through such a platform that participating countries come together as one strong force, acting in unison,” said Abdul Halim Rahman, Senior Officer-In-Charge of the Central Narcotics Bureau at Changi Airport in Singapore.

 

-International Criminal Police (Interpol)