Bogota, Jan 1 (IANS/EFE) Drug enforcement agents seized 3.6 tonnes of marijuana hidden in a shipment of flour, spaghetti and cooking oil in southwestern Colombia, officials said Wednesday.
The drug seizure was made in Betania, a stop on the highway between Buga and Tulua in Valle del Cauca province.
Drug enforcement agents found the drugs when they stopped and inspected a truck heading for La Guajira, a province on Colombia's border with Venezuela.
The truck driver's papers were in order and he said he was hauling food products.
Agents, however, noticed a "strong and strange odour" coming from the vehicle, the drug enforcement agency said.
A search of the truck turned up 83 sacks containing irregularly shaped packages whose contents tested positive for marijuana.
The 3.6 tonnes of pot seized on the highway had a street value of 3.8 million pesos ($1.6 million).
The truck driver was arrested and turned over to judicial authorities.
--IANS/EFE
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