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Colombia seizes 18 tons of
cocaine so far this year
Colombia has captured some 18
tons of cocaine and 2.4 tons of
marijuana during the first 78
days of this year, according to
a government statement released
Wednesday.
In addition to the seizure of
illicit drugs, the Colombian
military and police have also
captured 2.5 tons of coca magma,
5.2tons of coca leaves and more
than 340 tons of materials used
for drug production, the
statement confirmed.
Some 12,800 suspects, 86 of whom
were wanted by both Colombia and
the United States for drug
production, drug trading and
money laundering, have been
arrested by the authorities, the
statement added.
Meanwhile, the Colombian
government announced the same
day that its Navy had captured
six tons of cocaine on patrol in
the Pacific Ocean, the nation's
largest drug haul so far this
year.
Colombian drug cartels produce
around 600 tons of cocaine each
year and ship at least 550
abroad, mostly to the United
States and European markets.
These statistics make Colombia
the biggest producer of the
drug.
The United States has granted
more than four billion dollars
in military and
counter-narcotics aid to
Colombia's fight against the
drug trade since 2000.
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