ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) — Authorities in Paraguay announced Tuesday the largest cocaine seizure in the country's history, after officials were surprised to find more than 4 tons of the drug stashed inside a shipment of sugar bound for Belgium.
President Santiago Peña told journalists that the record discovery, code-named “Operation Sweetness," added to a string of “very sad episodes" in Paraguay that had transformed the strategically located nation into a key drug trafficking hub in the region.
Peña expressed hope that the seizure, valued at roughly $240 million, would disrupt the cocaine trade and said police were pursuing those responsible.
“I think it sends a signal to organized gangs not to use Paraguay as transit; they're going to find authorities that are determined and working in a coordinated way,” Peña said, promising further efforts to boost port security. “Gangs are not going to be able to avoid all the controls that we are implementing.”
On Monday, agents from Paraguay’s anti-drug agency, known as Senad, started unpacking the shipping containers filled with 40-kilogram (88-pound) sacks of sugar at Puerto Caacupemi, a river port in the capital, Asunción. On Tuesday they were still sorting and weighing the cocaine concealed inside the cargo.
It wasn't immediately clear where the drugs originated. Unlike nearby Bolivia, Colombia and Peru, Paraguay does not produce cocaine. But in recent years the small landlocked nation has grabbed headlines as a smuggling haven — for cigarettes and luxury goods in addition to drugs — as cartel bosses devise new routes to reach new markets. That has spawned corruption and even violence in a country previously unaccustomed to drug violence.
Some of the biggest cocaine busts in Europe, especially in Antwerp's port in Belgium, have been traced back to Paraguay's bustling river ports where dodgy deliveries can slip under the radar.
“Geographically, Paraguay has a strategic position for organized crime in the sense that we are located near the largest cocaine producers in the world,” Francisco Ayala, the spokesperson of Senad, said from the port where authorities inspected the haul of cocaine. “It has a globally recognized river traffic system ... it's perfect.”
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Agents from Paraguay’s anti-drug agency, Senad, guard sacks of cocaine at the Senad headquarters after the drugs were seized at the port of Caacupemi in Asuncion, Paraguay, Tuesday, July 16, 2024. Authorities announced the largest cocaine seizure in the country's history after officials found more than 4 tons of the drug stashed inside a shipment of sugar bound for Belgium. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
Agents from Paraguay’s anti-drug agency, Senad, guard sacks of cocaine at the Senad headquarters after the drugs were seized at the port of Caacupemi in Asuncion, Paraguay, Tuesday, July 16, 2024. Authorities announced the largest cocaine seizure in the country's history after officials found more than 4 tons of the drug stashed inside a shipment of sugar bound for Belgium. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
Agents from Paraguay’s anti-drug agency, Senad, inspect sacks of sugar at the port of Caacupemi in Asuncion, Paraguay, Tuesday, July 16, 2024. Authorities announced the largest cocaine seizure in the country's history after officials found more than 4 tons of the drug stashed inside a shipment of sugar bound for Belgium. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
An agent from Paraguay’s anti-drug agency, Senad, and an anti-drug dog inspect sacks of sugar at the port of Caacupemi in Asuncion, Paraguay, Tuesday, July 16, 2024. Authorities announced the largest cocaine seizure in the country's history after officials found more than 4 tons of the drug stashed inside a shipment of sugar bound for Belgium. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
PARIS (AP) — A French investigative judge extended police custody for the CEO of the popular messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, prosecutors said on Tuesday.
Durov was detained Saturday at Le Bourget airport as part of a judicial inquiry opened last month involving 12 alleged criminal violations. They include complicity in selling child sexual abuse material and in drug trafficking, fraud, abetting organized crime transactions and refusing to share information or documents with investigators when required by law.
A statement from the Paris prosecutor's office said Durov's police custody order was extended on Monday evening for up to 48 hours. After that, authorities must release or charge him, the prosecutor’s office said in an earlier statement.
Durov is a citizen of Russia, France, the United Arab Emirates and the Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis.
Russian government officials have expressed outrage at his detention, with some calling it politically motivated and proof of the West’s double standard on freedom of speech. The outcry has raised eyebrows among Kremlin critics because in 2018, Russian authorities themselves tried to block Telegram but failed, withdrawing the ban in 2020.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that Durov's arrest wasn’t a political move but part of an independent investigation. Macron posted on X that his country “is deeply committed” to freedom of expression but “freedoms are upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights.”
The UAE Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that it was "closely following the case" and had asked France to provide Durov "with all the necessary consular services in an urgent manner.”
The Russian Embassy in Paris said consular officials were denied access to Durov because French authorities view his French citizenship as his primary one.
Telegram, which says it has nearly a billion users worldwide, was founded by Durov and his brother after he himself faced pressure from the Russian authorities.
In 2013, he sold his stake in VKontakte, a popular Russian social networking site which he launched in 2006.
The company came under pressure during Russian government’s crackdown following mass pro-democracy protests that rocked Moscow at the end of 2011 and 2012.
Durov had said the authorities demanded that the site take down online communities of Russian opposition activists, and later that it hand over personal data of users who took part in the 2013 popular uprising in Ukraine, which eventually ousted a pro-Kremlin president.
Durov said in a recent interview that he had turned down these demands and left the country.
The demonstrations prompted Russian authorities to clamp down on the digital space, and Telegram and its pro-privacy rhetoric offered a convenient way for Russians to communicate and share news.
Telegram also continues to be a popular source of news in Ukraine, where both media outlets and officials use it to share information on the war, and deliver missile and air raid alerts.
In a statement posted on its platform after his arrest, Telegram said it abides by EU laws, and its moderation is “within industry standards and constantly improving.”
“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform,” Telegram’s post said. “Almost a billion users globally use Telegram as means of communication and as a source of vital information. We’re awaiting a prompt resolution of this situation. Telegram is with you all.”
Western governments have often criticized Telegram for a lack of content moderation, which experts say opens up the messaging platform for potential use in money laundering, drug trafficking and the sharing of material linked to the sexual exploitation of minors.
In 2022, Germany issued fines of $5 million against Telegram’s operators for failing to establish a lawful way to reporting illegal content or to name an entity in Germany to receive official communication. Both are required under German laws that regulate large online platforms.
French judge extends police custody for Telegram CEO Pavel Durov
FILE - Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov, center, smiles following his meeting with Indonesian Communication and Information Minister Rudiantara in Jakarta, Indonesia on Aug. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana, File)
French judge extends police custody for Telegram CEO Pavel Durov
