Bolivia has reported its biggest cocaine find of all time, with more than eight tonnes of the drug, apparently destined for the Netherlands, seized, Interior Minister Eduardo del Castillo said.
The cocaine has a street value of about $526 million (481.64 million euros), he said.
Found in the supply of wooden panels
The “largest cocaine discovery in the history of our country” was made on December 30 in a truck on an Andean road, the minister said. The cocaine was found in a shipment of wooden panels destined for Europe. According to the minister, four people have been arrested, including a Colombian who was a “big fish” in the drug trade.
According to the UN, Bolivia is the third largest producer of coca leaves and cocaine in the world after Colombia and Peru. The country allows the cultivation and distribution of coca leaves for chewing, tea and religious rituals. The growing areas for the legal market are limited to 22,200 hectares, but some of the coca leaves are diverted for illegal cocaine production.
Source: Krone
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