Colombia Seizes $265 Mln Worth of Cocaine at Port of Buenaventura

June 9, 2020

© Buenaventura / Adobe Stock
© Buenaventura / Adobe Stock

Colombian police on Tuesday seized cocaine with an estimated value of $265 million in shipping containers at the Pacific port of Buenaventura, a city on the Andean country's Pacific coast, a senior official reported.

Some 4.9 tonnes of the drug were seized in two containers at Colombia's most important Pacific port, anti-narcotics police director General Jorge Luis Ramirez said.

While there were no arrests, the operation represents the largest cocaine seizure in Colombia this year.

Authorities did not disclose the owner of the seized cocaine.

Colombia is a leading producer of cocaine, with output of around 951 tonnes a year and cultivations of coca - the drug's main ingredient - covering more than 200,000 hectares (494,211 acres), according to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Drug trafficking has long fed the Andean country's internal armed conflict. Leftist rebel group the National Liberation Army (ELN), dissidents from the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas - who demobilized under a 2016 peace deal - and criminal groups all make money from the trade, according to security sources.


(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Writing by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

Logistics News

Sonangol Looks to Secure $4.8b Loan From China for Sea Port Refinery

Sonangol Looks to Secure $4.8b Loan From China for Sea Port Refinery

Hartman Seatrade Adds Two Liebherr LS 250 Ship Cranes to its Fleet

Hartman Seatrade Adds Two Liebherr LS 250 Ship Cranes to its Fleet

Enstructure to Support Sims’ Houston Expansion

Enstructure to Support Sims’ Houston Expansion

Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority Elects Governor Tate Reeves as 2026 Chairman

Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority Elects Governor Tate Reeves as 2026 Chairman

Subscribe for Maritime Logistics Professional E‑News

FedEx must explain to consumers how they will receive tariff rebates, says US Treasury chief
Qantas' first-half profits beat estimates due to strong travel demand
FAA issues directive on Boeing 737 circuit breaker problem