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The criminal group recruited children and adolescents to sell the substances. If they refused, they were beaten.
They arrest 18 members of a gang that forced minors to sell drugs in Ecuador
The State Attorney General’s Office (FGE) of Ecuador reported this Thursday that 18 people were detained during an operation called “Freedom”, which was carried out in the cities of Cuenca and Machala
These people have been accused of “organized crime for drug trafficking and human trafficking,” detailed the FGE.
According to the institution, the organization under investigation presumably forced “people from vulnerable groups” to sell drugs in the surrounding area of the El Arenal market, a sector known as the Free Fair, in the city of Cuenca.
The National Police of Ecuador, whose officials also participated in the operation, indicated that the criminal group recruited children and adolescents to sell the substances, as well as to camouflage them and go unnoticed before police controls.
The operation that Thursday was carried out after three months of investigations, in which they determined that when minors refused to deal drugs, they were beaten.
