Pubdate: Mon, 21 Aug 2000
Source: Associated Press
Copyright: 2000 Associated Press
Author: Alexandra Olson, Associated Press Writer

VENEZUELA STEPS UP DRUG RAIDS

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Security forces raided houses, businesses and 
farms in a remote Venezuelan jungle Monday after intercepting a record five 
tons of cocaine and arresting at least 14 people in an international drug 
bust, authorities said.

The National Guard said it could recover more cocaine on a jungle island in 
the middle of the Orinoco River of eastern Delta Amacuro state. It also 
said more arrests are possible as efforts to disband the international drug 
ring Los Mellizos continue.

"At this very moment we are raiding a business in Delta Amacuro. We could 
have more results tomorrow or the day after. We are only in the middle of 
the operation," Gen. Antonio Alizo, head of the National Guard's anti-drug 
unit, told The Associated Press.

The drug bust Friday was the largest in Venezuela's history in terms of 
cocaine seized. Press reports said the five tons of cocaine are worth $400 
million, but Alizo said the value was probably much higher.

"That's peanuts. Authorities put a value on the stash but the street worth 
is generally much higher," he said.

The raid was a result of an eight-month investigation, known as "Orinoco 
2000," that used telephone bugging equipment, more than 200 anti-drug 
officers, three planes, three helicopters and eight boats. Colombia, 
France, Britain, Italy, Greece, Panama and the United States helped out.

Venezuela is a key trafficking route for Colombian cocaine en route to the 
United States and Europe. The U.S. Embassy called the raid "an example of 
excellent cooperation over a period of several months," between the United 
States and Venezuela.

"The organization targeted was a major cocaine trafficking organization 
based in South America with operations in the Caribbean and Europe. They 
were responsible for major shipments of cocaine both to the United States 
and Europe," the embassy said in a statement.

Two people in Italy and one person in France were among those detained in 
the international operation, carried out with financial assistance from the 
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Alizo said prosecutors released six 
of the 14 people initially arrested Friday after determining they were not 
involved in a crime.

A search continues for five drug traffickers who escaped into the jungle 
and for the cargo ship that was intended to transport the cocaine to Italy. 
The National Guard sent a reinforcement unit to the island on Monday morning.

"The terrain is very difficult. There are high tides and low tides and 
there is swamp water everywhere," Alizo said, adding that international 
authorities have the search for the cargo ship "under control because there 
are satellites monitoring it."

The National Guard is also searching for Los Mellizos ringleaders in 
Venezuela's capital, Caracas, in the western city of Maracaibo and in 
eastern city of Puerto Ordaz, Alizo said.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jo-D