Venezuela seizes over 15 tons of cocaine along Colombian border

CARACAS -- Venezuelan authorities have seized 15 tons of cocaine over the weekend in the western state of Zulia on the Colombian border, Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said on Monday.

On Nov 24, 3.2 tons of cocaine were seized. The drugs were discovered in sacks near the Oro River, which is near the border between Venezuela and Colombia. It was close to a drug processing lab that had already been destroyed.

In a second seizure, 14 illegal labs used to process cocaine along with 8.2 tons of cocaine hydrochloride and more than 4.1 tons of base paste of cocaine were also seized.

"This operation has led to the seizure of more than 15 tons of cocaine, in addition to a large quantity of chemicals, solvents and equipment used to process this drug," Reverol said.

"We have the responsibility of guaranteeing the security and minimizing the transit of illicit drugs from Colombia by land, sea and air," he said.

So far in 2018, in the fight against drug trafficking, there have been 3,154 operations and 5,670 people arrested.

Authorities have seized more than 32.6 tons of different drugs this year, Reverol said.