Over 7.5 tons of cocaine seized in Colombia-U.S. joint operation, in largest drugs bust since start of pandemic

Colombia and the United States seized over 7.5 tons of cocaine worth $286 million in a joint operation, the Colombian government said on Wednesday. It is the largest seizure made in the country since the start of the pandemic. The narcotics were mixed with a construction product and were being transported between the Colombian port city of Cartagena and Panama, the government said in a statement.

Potential production of pure cocaine hydrochloride in Colombia rose 1.5% last year to 1,137 metric tons, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said last month.