More than 5,000 gallons of potassium permanganate, a chemical precursor necessary for the production of coca paste, were found. This laboratory produced monthly, about 10,000 kilograms of potassium permanganate.
Troops of the National Army, in development of military operations, with the support of the Anti-Narcotics Unit of the National Police, and in assistance to early warning No.026 of 2018, destroyed in a controlled manner a potassium permanganate production laboratory, with important precursors that belonged to the Organized Crime Group, GDO, Los Chatas, who have a criminal alliance with the organized armed group, GAO, Clan del Golfo.
The operation was carried out in the village La Cristalina, in the rural area of the municipality El Peñol, Antioquia, and thanks to calls from information networks it was possible to find the laboratory, which was in the same way generating serious environmental damage due to the dumping of chemicals in water sources.
At the site troops found 5,025 gallons of potassium permanganate in solution, 1,143 kilograms of potassium permanganate and other elements used for drug production. This material would cost 370 million pesos approximately. Once the corresponding judicial proceedings were completed, the laboratory was destroyed in a controlled manner.
With this result the GDO Los Chatas and the GAO Clan del Golfo cease to receive about 2.500 million pesos. This illicit income helps organized crime groups and organized armed groups finance criminal operations to attack civilians and Military Forces.
Source: National Army News Agency
