Bolivia seizes around nine tonnes of cocaine. Its market value is $526m
Crime
South American nation is world’s third largest coca and cocaine producer after Columbia and Peru
LA PAZ (Agencies) – Bolivia announced a record cocaine seizure from the country's western Oruro department, officials said on Friday, giving the drugs a local street value of $224 million but nearly double that in Europe where the illicit cargo was likely headed.
Bolivian President Luis Arce described the roughly 8.8 metric ton bust as the largest ever recorded in the South American country in a post on social media. He added the drugs were hidden in wooden flooring materials found in a truck, and were likely destined to the Netherlands where their value would be estimated at some $526 million.
The operation also included the arrest of four suspected drug traffickers, stemming from nine raids, according to officials. One them is a Colombian national, Del Castillo, who is described as a “big fish” in the drug trade.
Bolivia is the world's third largest producer of coca and cocaine after Colombia and Peru, according to the United Nations.
Bolivia allows the cultivation and marketing of coca leaves for chewing, use in tea and for religious rituals.
Authorities cap cultivation at 22,200 hectares (55,000 acres) to provide for the licit market, but some is siphoned off for illicit cocaine production.
