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CENTRAL
AMERICA |
Panama Sea Chase Nets Nearly
Two Tons Of Cocaine
PANAMA (AFP) Panama's Coast Guard on Friday
plucked 1.6 tons of cocaine dumped overboard
from a motorboat during a high-speed chase
off the country's Caribbean coast, the
border defense service said.
The 42-meter (138-foot) launch "ended up
grounded on Chiquita beach, up the coast
from (the port city of) Colon," a Coast
Guard report said, adding that an additional
175 kilos (385 pounds) of the drug was found
still aboard the vessel.
The rest of the stash, around 1,600
kilograms of cocaine in 72 packages, was
thrown overboard by suspected drug
traffickers during the chase and was
retrieved by the Coast Guard, the report
said, adding no more details.
Justice Minister Jose Mulino, commenting on
the report, said Panama was not "idly
standing by" in the fight against drug
trafficking, which he said police waged
daily with "mysticism and professionalism."
Panama, a main drug route between South
American and the United States, seized 50
tons of cocaine and six tons of other
illegal drugs last year. |
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