The investigation began after several leads converged on one of the individuals involved, who used an import company as a front. This person collaborated with a transporter and a third party who had rented him a premises in Madrid, where the illicit merchandise was stored and guarded.
In early February 2026, investigators detected a shipment declared as “chocolate tears.” Ecuadorian authorities confirmed that this cargo concealed a large quantity of base cocaine paste, triggering a coordinated follow-up with the public prosecutors' offices of both countries.
The method employed by the organization involved hiding the drug inside numerous chocolates within a shipment of over 400 kilograms of merchandise, making its detection difficult.
The operation concluded with the arrest of three group members in Madrid for alleged crimes of belonging to a criminal organization and drug trafficking. Additionally, 62,827 grams of cocaine were seized.
