Pubdate: Thu, 25 Oct 2001
Source: The Herald-Sun (NC)
Copyright: 2001 The Herald-Sun
Contact:  http://www.herald-sun.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1428
Author: Associated Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)

3 TONS OF COCAINE SEIZED IN ECUADOR

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador -- Authorities seized three tons of unrefined, pure 
cocaine in an abandoned warehouse in the biggest drug bust in Ecuador since 
1994, police said Wednesday.

The cocaine was found Tuesday night in an industrial area outside this 
coastal city, 165 miles southeast of the capital Quito, a police statement 
said.

There were no arrests, but police were searching for a "network" of 
traffickers in connection to the seizure, the statement said. An anonymous 
tip led police to the warehouse, where they found the cocaine packed into 
123 boxes.

About 70 percent of the confiscated drugs consisted of coca paste, an 
unrefined form of cocaine. The haul had an estimated U.S. street value of 
$130 million, police said.
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