A cache of 1.5 tons of cocaine was seized by authorities in the department of Cauca, in southwestern Colombia, official sources reported this Saturday, but no arrests were reported.
The Minister of Defense, Iván Velásquez, said in his X account that the illicit drugs were in the town of El Bordo, without giving more details of the operation.
Last week, the Colombian Navy and Air Force seized 4,919 kilos of cocaine that were transported in two semi-submersibles in the waters of the Pacific Ocean, in the department of Nariño (border with Ecuador).
The first boat was manned by three Colombians, who before being caught had opened two valves on the semi-submersible to try to sink it with the 2,700 kilos of cocaine they were transporting.
Then the other semi-submersible was detected, in which two Colombians and an Ecuadorian were traveling, who also opened the valves to prevent the authorities from seizing the device and the 2,219 kilos of cocaine they were carrying.
According to information from the organized crime investigation center InSight Crime, Colombian authorities seized 739.5 tons of cocaine last year, 450 of which were confiscated in international territories, according to the Ministry of Defense. This represents an increase of 12.1% compared to the 659 tons seized in 2022.
The increase in cocaine seizures is due to the fact that the Government has prioritized interdiction.
This is part of the Government’s overall drug strategy, which aims to shift its focus away from coca growers and cocaine users and, at the same time, increase the authorities’ ability to seize drug shipments and capture drug traffickers. key members of drug trafficking networks.
The areas of both cultivation and production of base paste and cocaine in Colombia have been concentrated on the borders with Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru.
EFE
