Three fishermen had been drifting in their boat at sea for eight days, after they were robbed and all means of communication were stolen. Their last contact with family was on June 24, when they were supposed to return to San Mateo, in Ecuador. A Venezuelan purse seiner spotted the men and rescued them on July 3. The fishermen arrived in Manta a day later with the Ecuadorian Navy’s coast guard vessel ‘Isla Santa Rosa’.  Onboard, they had undergone a medical check by a doctor, who concluded that their health was stable, reported several Ecuadorian news sites.

Not much is known about the robbery, as the fishers declined to give a statement and instead went home with their loved ones, who had been gathering at the Manta port Master’s Office since early morning. The fishing community had been anxiously awaiting any news about the missing fishermen and the search mission. This case emphasizes the risk artisanal crews face. Besides mechanical breakdowns and weather conditions, robberies are becoming increasingly common. Pirates even take the engines, rendering a boat ungovernable and leaving the crew to survive on their own.

Nine men, including a minor, have been arrested by Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Department (OIJ) in connection with the theft of four containers loaded with tuna products from a customs warehouse in Limón on the country’s Caribbean coast, according to Costa Rican news sites. Authorities recovered 400 boxes containing thousands of canned tuna from two of the stolen containers during an operation that began Tuesday. However, reports did not disclose the brands and it remains unclear whether the other two containers have been recovered. The suspects have been referred to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for further legal proceedings.

According to officials, several suspects were armed and masked when they entered the warehouse on June 30, and subdued security personnel, seized their equipment, and removed the tuna cargo from the facility. Container theft has emerged as a growing threat to cargo transport in Costa Rica. Over the past two years, the OIJ has received more than 330 complaints and identified criminal gangs specializing in such robberies, according to Costa Rican news outlet CR Hoy.

Drug traffickers have discovered a new way to smuggle cocaine by hiding it in frozen tuna. Russian officials found 500 kg in packages concealed inside the fish, which could only be removed by cutting the fish with a chainsaw. The shipment was legally imported from Ecuador and transported in a container to the port of St Petersburg, where the Federal Security Service agents discovered over 100 bricks of narcotics with an estimated street value of USD 50 to 70 million.

A Russian citizen suspected of involvement in an international smuggling network for cocaine from Latin American origin has been arrested. A search of his residence yielded a large amount of cryptocurrency, as well as expensive watches and cars. The Ukraine war led to the closure of the port of Odesa, a drug trafficking hub, and Latin American cartels rerouted shipments to the port of St. Petersburg. Authorities have seized increasingly large shipments since 2022 and claim that the drug is transported over land to Western European countries. The domestic niche market for cocaine is growing, but its high costs makes it a luxury item that is out of reach for the vast majority of Russians.