Colombia, US seize 1.5 tonnes of cocaine

Bogota, May 7 (IANS/EFE) Colombian police and elements of the US Coast Guard and Drug Enforcement Administration seized in international waters more than 1.5 tonnes of cocaine and arrested four people, authorities here said.

The joint operation, dubbed 'Republica 88', was carried out at a spot in the Caribbean known as La Raya, near where the maritime borders of Colombia and Honduras converge, according to a communique issued by the Colombian police Tuesday.

Agents with the police anti-narcotics directorate detected two fastboats that had set off from the coastal zones of Cojoro and Punta Espada, in the northern province of La Guajira, and when authorities halted and boarded these on the high seas they found a total of 1,595 kg of cocaine.

The boats were crewed by two Hondurans, a Colombian and a Nicaraguan, all of whom were arrested.

The four men, along with the boats and the seized drugs, were taken to Tampa, Florida, since they were captured in international waters and placed at the disposition of US authorities.

--IANS/EFE

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