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Large Quantities Of Cocaine Discovered During Security Checks
A British woman has been arrested at Cancun International Airport after being found with significant amounts of drugs in her luggage. The woman has been detained by local police for processing.
The story, which only broke late on Sunday night, suggested the woman attempted to enter the country via Cancun Airport’s Terminal 2. According to several reports, she was traveling into the country from Amsterdam when she was apprehended.
On arrival, nothing seemed suspicious about the woman. Her suitcase had been opened previously, where nothing was found. However, one of the immigration service’s sniffer dogs reacted to the suitcase prompting a reinspection. The weight of the empty suitcase prompted suspicion, and further investigation was initiated.
The suitcase was placed through the x-ray machine, where several packages of drugs were seen in a hidden compartment. When looking into the bag, nothing can be seen, but a secret double-bottom was revealed where the drugs were located
At least two sources suggest that nine packages of drugs were found in the suitcase. They were stored in several bags and bottles, and contained a white powdery substance which is currently assumed to be cocaine. The reports list the entire weight of the drugs as 10 kilos – a significant size for a smuggling operation into the country.
No information on the woman’s age, name, or occupation has been released yet, but as further details become available, the Cancun Sun will report.
The woman is now under the jurisdiction of the local law enforcement agencies and will be in court to plead her case in the ensuing weeks. If found guilty, she may be sentenced to as much as a decade in prison based on similar smuggling cases.
The news, as shocking as it is, is not uncommon for the Cancun region. The state of Quintana Roo has suffered from a drastic increase in drug-related crime in recent years. Sadly, as cities like Tulum and Cancun’s popularity soars, the market for drugs rises with it, helping turn it into a hotly contested region for organized crime.
Currently, several gangs are vying for control of Quintana Roo, resulting in an escalation in violence that often seeps into the touristic areas of the state. Although tourists are almost never the targets, the presence of violence is proving to be an increased risk for those who venture outside of the hotel zone.
The local police force, with the help of the National Guard, is doing what it can to help eliminate the threat posed by the gangs. Visitors to Cancun can still expect to see armed soldiers patrolling some of the more popular regions to help lessen the likelihood of any attacks or violent events taking place where tourists are.
Each week provides new victories in the form of arrests, but along with this usually comes some form of violence. Tulum in particular, is facing comparisons with other Mexican cities that have been all but destroyed by gang violence. A fast-growing city with high poverty rates fosters the perfect environment for gangs to take hold.
With the arrival of the Maya Train in the coming years, the landscape of tourism is likely to transform considerably in the state. It is hoped that the local law enforcement agencies will be able to control the issues easier by then when more increases in tourists are expected.
Visitors to the region are regularly warned upon arrival that involvement in the drug trade at any level is punishable with prison time. Those who choose to do so do at their own risk and help propagate a much larger problem.
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