Americas News
Colombian police seize 5 tons of cocaine
By DPA
Sep 4, 2008, 16:52 GMT

Bogota - Colombian police have seized 5 tons of cocaine, with a street value of about 570,000 dollars, near the country's border with Venezuela, local media reported Thursday.

The drugs were found in the municipality of Uribia, in the La Guajira region, where they were stashed. The cocaine was to be smuggled outside Colombia, media reports said, quoting regional police commander General Oscar Gamboa.

The cocaine belonged to drug baron Daniel Rendon, alias 'Don Mario,' Gamboa claimed. No arrests were made.

On Tuesday, Colombian authorities arrested 10 people and seized 3.3 tons of cocaine in three operations on the country's Pacific coast.

Colombia is the largest producer of cocaine in the world. Most of it is smuggled into the United States.

Despite years of spraying coca fields to destroy the crops, the cultivated area is not believed to have shrunk.

Profits from the illegal drug trade fuel the Colombian conflict - pitting the central government with leftist rebels and right-wing paramilitaries.