Two tonnes of cocaine found in fruit container bound for Sweden in Machala

Ecuadorian police seized two tonnes of cocaine hidden inside a fruit container bound for Sweden, in an operation at the port of Machala in El Oro province.

Anti-narcotics agents found 2,040 blocks of cocaine in the container. Interior Minister John Reimberg announced the seizure on social media on Sunday, September 6, 2026, but did not disclose the name of the fruit-export company that owned it.

The operation was still under way when Reimberg reported the discovery. Authorities had not released further details about the procedure or identified possible suspects.

The seizure took place in El Oro, a coastal province on Ecuador’s border with Peru. Ecuador serves as a transit point for cocaine headed to Europe and North America. The country borders Colombia and Peru, the world’s two largest cocaine producers, and has several ports along its coast.

The article says Ecuador ranks third worldwide for drug seizures, behind Colombia and the United States. The country seized about 200 tonnes of drugs in 2021 and nearly 300 tonnes in 2024, a record, according to the report.