Thread: Venezuela seizes 2 tons of cocaine, arrest 3

Venezuela seizes 2 tons of cocaine, arrest 3

The Associated Press
2:16 p.m. May 11, 2009

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan authorities have seized nearly two tons of cocaine and arrested three suspects in their largest drug bust in months, the country's top counter-drug official said Monday.

Police and soldiers discovered 4,370 pounds (1,983 kilograms) of cocaine during a raid on a ranch in central Miranda state on Saturday, said National Anti-Drug Agency director Nestor Reverol. A Colombian and two Venezuelans were detained.

Anti-drug initiatives under President Hugo Chavez have been a sore point between Venezuela and the United States since 2005, when Chavez suspended cooperation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration after accusing its agents of espionage – an accusation the DEA denies.
U.S. officials say Venezuela has become a major transshipment point for Colombian cocaine under Chavez.

Reverol hailed the action as blow against smugglers using Venezuela to ship drugs to the United States and Europe.

"We ratify the Venezuelan state's commitment in the head-on fight against drug trafficking," he said.

The smugglers planned to load the cocaine onto a vessel along the coast, he said. In a separate case, police seized 1,830 pounds (830 kilograms) of marijuana at a roadside checkpoint in the western state of Trujillo.

Reverol said Venezuelan authorities have confiscated more than 18 tons of cocaine so far this year and arrested more than 2,000 drug-related suspects.

Reverol also announced that authorities would soon arrest the owners of a small plane filled with cocaine that crashed in Honduras on Sunday. The plane registered in Venezuela was carrying around 3,300 pounds (1,500 kilograms) of cocaine when it crashed on Utila, one of the Bay Islands off the Central American country's northern coast.

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/ ... ndex=97537

I can't even imagine 2 TONS of cocaine! That country must be covered with coca plants! I don't know what one plant would yield in cocaine, but with the amounts they are busting I shudder to think how much is getting thru!

Originally Posted by nomas

I can't even imagine 2 TONS of cocaine! That country must be covered with coca plants! I don't know what one plant would yield in cocaine, but with the amounts they are busting I shudder to think how much is getting thru!

And that was only "their largest drug bust in MONTHS".

Not the largest this year. Or the largest in many years. Or the largest bust ever.