Colombian authorities have found eight tonnes of cocaine along the border of Panama. The president of Columbia describes it as the biggest seizure of drugs in history as describes by the authorities as well.
The amount of cocaine seized has an estimated worth of $240 million. This scandal was happening on a banana plantation. The cocaine was hidden in this banana plantation in the municipality of Turbo in Antioquia. This task was done by around 50 black commandos backed by helicopters, the national police agency said on Sunday.
Three people were arrested in the operation on the plantation. The cocaine was hidden in 359 canvas sacks and was hidden in a small cubicle under a cement cover which was 2.5 metres underground. Three other suspects escaped, according to a police statement.
Defence Minister Luis Carlos Villegas said that the drugs belonged to the Clan Usuga crime gang. The US has offered a $5m reward for the capture of its leader.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos congratulated the police officials on Twitter, adding that “the operation in Turbo seized the largest amount in our history … A crushing blow to the criminals”.
Colombia produces about 442 tonnes of cocaine annually, according to the UN. Last year, authorities seized 252 tonnes of the narcotic.
Authorities say the Usuga Clan, which emerged after the mass demobilisation of right-wing paramilitaries a decade ago, ships tonnes of cocaine from Colombia to Central America and on to the US.
Such a large seizure is rare but not unprecedented on a global scale. In March 2007, the US Coast Guard seized nearly 20 tonnes of cocaine found on a cargo ship – the Gatun – Which was going from the Panama Canal to the Mexican port of Topolobampo.
In 2001, the Coast Guard found 13 tonnes of cocaine aboard a Belize-flagged fishing boat that aroused suspicion while off the Mexican coast because it had no working fishing equipment and few fish.
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