Authorities in Venezuela on Thursday said that more than half a ton of cocaine had been seized from a drug cartel that operates in Colombia.

In his speech on the Venezuelan state television channel (VTV), Attorney General Tarek William Saab said that after authorities carried out 49 raids in the states of Anzoátegui, La Guaira, Mérida, Falcón, Táchira, Trujillo, and Carabobo, 490 kilos of cocaine and 19 vehicles were confiscated.

Since November, Saab noted that authorities had arrested 21 people, including several former Chavista officials, for alleged links to drug trafficking.

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Venezuela's Cocaine Bust Result to Series of Arrests

According to Tarek William Saab, the first arrest took place last November 7 when former legislative assistant Luis Alfonso Viloria Chirinos and six others were apprehended while transporting 336 kilos of cocaine in three pickup trucks, AFP reported.

As a result of the investigations, former deputy Jeycar Pérez and former legislative councilor Jean Silva were also found to participate in this drug trafficking network, and they were arrested on January 5 and 7, respectively.

On January 27, eight others were apprehended, including former deputy Taína González and Jesús María Semprún mayor Keyrineth Fernández, who were traveling in three vans, one of them with a secret compartment in which they found six kilos of cocaine.

González and Fernández are both members of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela.

Saab said those arrested were "at the disposal of a Colombian criminal organization and used their credentials" to avoid searches at police checkpoints to transport large quantities of drugs to Venezuela.

He noted that two citizens posing as officials of the government of President Nicolás Maduro were also apprehended for drug trafficking on February 2.

"They didn't have the quality of being officials, but they passed themselves off with false credentials," the attorney general said, adding that the two were members of the "same referred criminal group."

Authorities in Venezuela Conduct More Anti-Drug Operations Close to Colombia Border

Tarek William Saab said Venezuelan anti-drug agents recently conducted two operations in the municipality of Jesús María Semprúm in the western state of Zulia, bordering Colombia, which led to the destruction of several camps producing narcotics.

Saab noted that authorities eradicated 341,000 coca plants that occupied 31 hectares in Zulia in these two operations, EFE Agency reported.

"This is very important as a victory for the Venezuelan state and all the civil and military forces that are united in this fight, 341,000 coca plants were eradicated that spread over 31 hectares," Saab said.

On February 6, Saab noted that authorities destroyed "an illicit drug production camp" in Jesús María Semprúm, where there was a 17-hectare field of coca bushes.

In this camp, authorities found 4,710 kilos of cocaine base paste, 90 liters of chemicals, and 1,100 liters of fuel, which were destroyed, while 187,000 coca bushes were eradicated in the field.

In a second operation carried out on February 8, Saab said the security forces found a 14-hectare field with a total of approximately 154,000 coca plants in the same municipality that were also destroyed.

The attorney general noted that this is a significant blow to the Colombian drug cartel that intends to bring "chaos" to Venezuela. 

"We are not going to allow it. We are sure that this intention they promote from the neighboring country Colombia will not going to materialize in Venezuela," Saab said.

The official noted that the Prosecutor's Office would investigate the alleged link between the crops, laboratories, and the drug trafficking network that recruited Venezuelan officials, who will face charges of drug trafficking, and money laundering, among others.

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Jess Smith

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