PANAMA: Police announce huge drug bust in Pacific

Nearly twenty tonnes of cocaine seized on a ship in the Pacific by US and Panamanian authorities. U.S. and Panamanian authorities have seized 19.4 tonnes of cocaine on board a ship in the Pacific, making what is thought to be one of the world's biggest maritime drug busts. U.S. anti-drug officials and Panamanian police found the narcotics hidden in the cargo area of a Panama-registered ship off the Central American nation's coast on the weekend. Authorities announced that they arrested 14 Panamanians and Mexicans. Government officials declined to give the street value of the haul but cocaine typically sells at about $10,000 a pound ($20,000 a kg) in the United States, Central American and U.S. anti-drug officials say. In May 2001, the U.S. Coast Guard found 13 tonnes of cocaine aboard a Belize-registered vessel off Mexico's Pacific coast. Until Monday's announcement, it was the largest maritime drug seizure on record, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Central America and Mexico are the main transit points for South American cocaine destined for U.S. markets.

ITN Source | March 23, 2007

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