Nicaragua Says Seized 23
Tonnes of Cocaine in
2007
Nicaraguan authorities
said on Wednesday it
confiscated 23 tonnes of
cocaine last year as the
country clamped down on
drug gangs that use its
semi-wild Caribbean
coast to speed drugs
northward by boat.
Police also seized 182
kg (400 pounds) of
heroin and us$6 million
in cash over the year as
they arrested nearly
2,000 people, including
115 foreigners, and
dismantled 14 groups
linked to drug
smuggling, the country's
police chief Aminta
Granera said.
She said the confiscated
drugs were worth us$423
million at U.S. street
prices.
"Drug smugglers have
tried to use our
territory not just for a
trafficking route to the
north but to organize
strong support bases and
leave part of the drugs
for domestic
consumption," Granera
said, presenting the
annual drug report.
She said one of the 14
gangs caught last year
had links to Mexico's
powerful Sinaloa cartel,
which controls Pacific
coast smuggling routes.
Much of the South
American cocaine that
moves through Central
America on its way north
to the United States is
smuggled up the region's
Caribbean coast by
speedboat.
Nicaraguan President
Daniel Ortega, a former
U.S. Cold War foe
brought back to power in
an election just over a
year ago, has called for
more help from the
United States in
battling drug
traffickers.
Washington focuses
heavily on Mexico's drug
cartels and President
George W. Bush has
offered Mexico us$1.4
billion worth of
surveillance equipment
over three years. |
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