Colombia seizes 7.6 tonnes of cocaine bound for the Netherlands at Cartagena port
Colombian police have seized 7.6 tonnes of cocaine destined for the Netherlands at the port of Cartagena. President Abelardo de la Espriella called it the largest seizure at the port in a decade.
Colombia's National Police have confiscated 7.6 tonnes of cocaine intended for shipment to the Netherlands at the Caribbean port of Cartagena, President Abelardo de la Espriella announced on Tuesday. On X, he described it as the biggest cocaine seizure at Cartagena's port in the past ten years.
According to the police, the drugs were concealed in powdered panela, an unrefined cane sugar. They were found by the force's anti-narcotics directorate during an operation coordinated with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
First 75 days of the government
De la Espriella said that in the first 75 days of his government, security forces had seized 132 tonnes of cocaine worth around $6.1 billion. He stressed that there was no truce against narco-terrorism, arguing that every dose kept off the streets saves lives and every dollar taken from criminal groups weakens their structures.
Two Dutch nationals arrested
Separately, the Dutch Public Prosecution Service (OM) confirmed to the newspaper AD that two Dutch nationals had been arrested in Colombia at its request. Colombian prosecutors identified them as Ronny and Ulrich. Neither authority has directly linked the arrests to the seizure.
Data from the EU Drugs Agency show that 330 tonnes of cocaine were seized in the European Union in 2024, compared with 419 tonnes in 2023.
