CARACAS (AFP) – More than 10 tonnes of cocaine were seized in Venezuela during a police and military operation, authorities said on Thursday, a quantity equal to around a quarter of all seizures made last year.
“A total of 10,400 kilogrammes of cocaine hydrochloride were seized and incinerated,” the head of the country’s anti-drugs agency Richard Lopez said on X.
Cocaine hydrochloride refers to the powder form of the illicit drug.
Venezuela confiscated about 51 tonnes of drugs so far this year, resulting in more than 13,000 arrests, Lopez said.
Police dismantled three cocaine production camps with 13 laboratories, a logistics centre, and a weapons and explosives manufacturing plant, he added.
The official did not report any arrests in the three-day operation in northwestern Zulia state, on the border with Colombia and where most drugs have been seized this year.
