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Colombian police find $19 million
hidden in house
Colombian police found 19
million U.S. dollars in cash
under the floorboards of a house
in the country's southern city
of Cali, local radio Caracol
reported on Saturday.
The cash, wrapped in plastic
bags, possibly belonged to Juan
Carlos Ramirez, a senior figure
in the Norte del Valle Cartel,
the country's biggest and most
powerful drug-trafficking
organization, said local police
officer Oscar Naranjo.
Naranjo said that in the past
three days the police have
conducted more than 43 raids in
this city, Colombia's third
largest, some 300 km southwest
of the capital.
Ramirez was also believed to be
the owner of cash and gold worth
60.4 million U.S. dollars seized
in recent anti-drug operations.
The Norte del Valle Cartel is
believed to be to blame for as
much as 30 percent of over 500
metric tons of cocaine smuggled
from Colombia to the United
States every year.
Ramirez is on the U.S. list for
most-wanted drug smugglers.
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