Tula/Tuleo -- buscando confirmación

14:53 Dec 9, 2016 

The word "tula" was new to me as well, as was the morphing of that into "el tuleo". To even find the pictures that appear in the link I posted, I had to google "hallan cocaína tula contenedor carga". In other words, I did not get hits for "tula" or "tuleo". I only found "tula" in a discussion board entry on wordreference.com. Hence my post here, seeking confirmation. I posted it in the category of shipping/transportation so that I could get confirmation, and also to try to determine whether, as Charles replied, the bags were something that would normally be found in shipping containers, or were, as he put it, taking advantage of empty space in a container. So, it actually was a bit of a mystery when I started out. That's why I came here seeking confirmation :-)

20:48 Dec 8, 2016 

you can see in the links are holdall types. They sling half a dozen in amongst the legit cargo. I've heard them called "petate", but "tula" is a new one to me. Duffle or sports bags. No mystery ;)

18:59 Dec 8, 2016 

And I don't think the bags were supposed to be there (with different contents, like tools or something) or that they would normally have formed part of the cargo. In the two cases in our references the containers were supposed to contain transformers and rolls of film respectively. The bags were an undeclared extra, taking advantage of empty space, as far as I can tell.

18:53 Dec 8, 2016 

I think your reasoning is sound. "Tuleo" probably does mean specifically that. It doesn't seem to be a standard term in transportation in Colombia.

18:28 Dec 8, 2016 

@ Charles, thank you, I think this is definitely the right direction. I think it was the "tuleo" that tripped me up. I would call both sorts of bags "duffles" in US English. Tuleo, it would seem, is "cop speak". "Implementando el tuleo en el contenedor para transportar ..." would just come to "introducing the duffles into the container for transport". I was thinking it was some sort of system used to load containers, and so was going down the wrong path!

18:20 Dec 8, 2016 

A "tula" in Colombia is what we call a holdall in UK English and I think you call a carryall in the US. The Diccionario de americanismos defines it like this:
"I. 1. f. Co. Bolsa de viaje alargada y de material resistente, con un asa en la parte superior."

And here is an article with a photo showing such bags; since it looks different from the one you've just posted yourself, perhaps this is a common method:
http://zonacero.com/?q=judiciales/incautan-una-tonelada-de-c...

I haven't found any references to "tuleo", so we can only guess, but it must be related to "tula".

18:11 Dec 8, 2016 

neilmac, thank you for your entry. However, I'm not looking for a term/phrase to describe smuggling illicit substances in legitimate cargo. I'm familiar with drug trafficking terminology. I'm interested in the shipping terminology more specifically for "tula" and "tuleo". There is a good visual here: http://www.eluniversal.com.co/sucesos/incautan-200-kilos-de-...
My question was more for verification if shipping containers normally contain this kind of kit bag, and if kit bag (tula), using the kit bags in the containers to transport the substance is a reasonable understanding of the text.