3,252 gallons of coca paste base in production process were dismantled by the Colombian Navy.
The Colombian Navy in operations against the drug trafficking production chain on the Pacific coast of Nariño, found and dismantle 11 illegal laboratories used for the production of coca paste, belonging to the dissident groups of the FARC, Iván Ríos and Ariel Aldana, who commit crimes in this southwestern area of the country.
With the deployment of River Units of the Navy Infantry River Battalion No. 40 and troops of the Anti-Drug Trafficking Battalion No. 4 of the National Army, the first operation took place in the sector known as Palmicheras, a rural area of the municipality of Tumaco, where eight rudimentary structures were found by troops in which two coca paste production complexes operated. Inside, 1,422 gallons of coca base in process, 240 kilograms of chopped coca leaf, 80 kilograms of coca seeds, as well as 400 gallons of liquid precursors and 41 kilograms of solid precursors were found by troops.
In parallel, troops of the Navy Infantry Battalion No. 41 in a rural area of the municipality of Roberto Payán - Nariño, found and destroyed three laboratories where 1,830 gallons of coca base in process and 125 kilograms of solid precursors were destroyed.
The 11 laboratories, the supplies and the machinery used were dismantled in accordance with the established protocols and in coordination with the Attorney General's Office.
With these decisive blows dealt by the military Forces, the logistical structure of the FARC dissidents, who commit crimes on the Pacific Coast of Nariño and its border area, was hit by more than 1,280 million pesos. In the same way, it was possible to damage one of the main links in the cocaine hydrochloride production chain, since the coca base paste is the main precursor for the crystallization of the narcotic.
Source: Press - Navy of Colombia
