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Italy thwarts Colombian cartel with massive cocaine haul
[PULSE.NG] Italian police on Thursday said they had seized over two tonnes of pure cocaine from Colombia in the biggest drug bust in Italia of the past 25 years.The drugs, with a street value of around 500 million euros ($574 million), were discovered last week packed into 60 bags at the port of Genoa in a container from the South American country destined for Barcelona in Spain. "The drugs belonged to several drug-trafficking organizations associated with the gang known as the 'Gulf Clan'," a police statement said in reference to Colombia's famed narco mob. The Gulf Clan accounts for about 70 percent of Colombia's cocaine production and uses violence and intimidation to control narcotics trafficking routes, cocaine processing laboratories and departure points. Police replaced the 1,801 packets of cocaine with salt and sent the cargo on its way in a ploy to catch the drug runners, according to media reports. A 59-year old Spanish national was tossed in the calaboose ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... in Barcelona when he attempted to collect the shipment, police said. Once in Barcelona, the drug was destined to supply a Europe-wide market. The raid followed an international investigation involving police from Britannia, Spain and Colombia, which is the world's leading coca leaf grower and also the biggest source of cocaine, according to the UN. The biggest cocaine consuming countries are Albania, Scotland and the United States, according to a 2017 UN report. Posted by: Fred 2019-02-01 |
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