Authorities in Colombian coastal city Cartagena seized 13.2 tons of cocaine in containers carrying panela, a popular Colombian sugarcane product, reported local media Monday.
The Technical Investigation Team of the Prosecutor General’s Office will continue to test the 33,450 blocks of unrefined sugar to determine the exact concentration of cocaine hydrochloride used in each 500g unit.
The haul, the largest in years, was made by the Navy, Anti-Narcotics Police and the Technical Investigation Team after several months of monitoring and investigation in the Caribbean port city, El Espectador reported.
According to Navy sources, police narcotics dogs detected the presence of an illicit substance which led to the Technical Investigation Team carrying out tests and determining that the substance was cocaine hydrochloride. The cargo came from the Valle del Cauca department and were to be sent to Veracruz, Mexico, reportedly to be used as animal feed.
