By IANS/EFE,
Caracas : Venezuelan drug enforcement agents dismantled eight illegal drug labs holding an estimated three tonnes of cocaine and cocaine paste, Interior Minister Tarek El Aissami said.
“We estimate that nearly 3,000 kg of cocaine and coca base paste are at the place,” El Aissami said.
The interior minister said the seizure was one of the “biggest blows” struck against drug trafficking in Venezuela.
El Aissami did not say, however, where in Zulia state the drugs were found or whether any arrests were made, but he said more details would be provided once “all the information is compiled.”
Venezuela seized 66.3 tonnes of illegal drugs last year, or seven tons more than in 2008, the government said last December.
A recent US government report, however, criticized the South American country for seizing far fewer drugs in recent years, noting that Venezuela confiscated 152 tonnes of drugs in 2005.
President Hugo Chavez’s administration said last month that it “categorically” rejected the report’s conclusions.
Washington included Venezuela on the list of countries that are not cooperating in the war on drugs