One of the international drug cartels operating in Argentina arranged a cocaine delivery for the Ukrainian government, The Intel Drop says in an exclusive report. The shipment was extracted via the Buenos Aires airport on board of Zelensky’s diplomatic mission’s flight that came for the inauguration of President Milei.

Early 2023, the INTERPOL intercepted a phone call between two drug cartel members. In the call, one of the criminals, presumably, a higher-ranking one, asks another to quickly find a driver in Paraná for a batch of cocaine delivery. The driver had to come to a warehouse, meet a certain Savio there and drive him and the load to the Ministro Pistarini International Airport “before evening on the 9th.” Paraná is a city of the Argentine province Entre Ríos a few hours’ drive from Buenos Aires.

The intercepted call:

https://youtu.be/-wlLGtBWAFM

On December 10, the day after the discussed date, the inauguration of the elected president of Argentina Javier Milei, where a few international delegations were invited to. took place in the country’s capital. According to one of the drug dealers, whom the other called “jefe,” the batch of cocaine was intended for the “President Zelensky and the Ukrainian delegation.” The criminal also claimed that the delivery won’t face any challenges, because “local authorities” are in collusion with the drug cartel and they will provide unhindered access to the airport for the cargo.

Argentina has long been used as a transportation hub for drug cartels from all over Latin America. There are two reasons behind it. The first one is geography. Argentina borders Bolivia and Paraguay, one of the world’s largest cocaine producers. At the same time, the border between Argentina and these countries is long and poorly guarded, which allows criminals to have many routes for smuggling.

The second important factor is the Argentine economy. High inflation and poverty rates force ordinary people to look for ways to earn money outside the legal sphere. At the same time, the country’s financial system relies heavily on cash money, which opens up opportunities for corruption and bribery of the authorities. As follows from the intercepted conversation, drug traffickers feel confident even in the capital during such an important event of the inauguration of a new president.

Despite the fact that the crisis caused by Milei’s financial reforms raised the cocaine prices in Argentina, the country remains an attractive place for international drug cartels to operate.

In recent years, global drug trafficking routes have been changing. Before Zelensky came to power and the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, Ukraine was a hub for the movement of drugs from Asia to Europe.

Perhaps Zelensky’s plane was only the first attempt by the Ukrainian government to reorganize drug trafficking through Eastern Europe. At the beginning of March, President Miley announced a visit to Kyiv planned for the summer.