Ecuador is taking steps to keep chemicals used as precursor for illegal drugs out of criminal hands by installing GPS tracking devices to keep tabs on the chemicals. The monitoring device tracks the chemicals beginning the moment they enter the country. Every truck that transports these chemicals is equipped with a GPS tracker so it can be tracked along its route to the storage facility.
“This system helps us monitor whether a vehicle carrying chemicals has diverted from its route or has stopped and opened its cargo doors,” says Rodrigo Vélez, director of The National Council for the Control of Narcotic and Psychotropic Substances.
They give extra attention to chemicals used in the making of cocaine and heroin leading to an increased number of seizures and the destruction of more than a dozen illegal laboratories.
Other countries including Argentine, Peru, and Chile have all expressed interest in installing the same GPS tracking prevention system.