This article discusses the problems of contraband in Tumaco and the surrounding region in the 1860s and 1870s, at the beginning of the export bonanza through this port. Using contraband as way to identify merchants, commercial routes, and imported products, it is possible to analyze the commercial dynamic of Tumaco before the port had acquired its later importance in the national economy. We suggest that Tumaco already experienced a particular dynamism based on illicit trade that was crucial for the region even though it threatened state authority and its finances.