The result included the arrest of an alleged member, the seizure of narcotics and the controlled destruction of a coca paste base production laboratory.
During the last week, within the framework of sustained military operations in the south of the department of Meta department, troops of the Seventh Brigade of Colombian National Army dealt a new blow to the illicit activities of the residual organized armed group (GAO-r) Structure Ever Castro, belonging to the faction alias Calarcá.
The most recent incident occurred in the Jardín de Peñas populated center, where soldiers of the 29th Infantry Battalion carried out an operation that led to the arrest in flagrante delicto of an individual and the confiscation of a pick-up truck, 6 55-gallon barrels and approximately 450 kilograms of marijuana. According to military intelligence information, this element would be aimed at strengthening the illicit income of the criminal structure that commits crimes in this area of the department.
In parallel, in the village of Río Nuevo, municipality of San Juan de Arama, the troops found and destroyed in controlled conditions a rudimentary laboratory for the production of coca base paste, made of a wooden construction and different precursors used for the production of the alkaloid. 9 barrels with 455 gallons of processed gasoline, 3 spraying pumps, 9 containers with fuel used for the extraction of the alkaloid, 3 sacks of ammonia and other elements used for the production of coca leaf were found by troops at the site.
These results are complemented by the seizure of 5.6 kilograms of a substance with characteristics similar to coca base paste, during the installation of a military checkpoint in the sector known as La Ye, in San Juan de Arama. The items remained into custody of the authority while the preliminary identification tests are carried out.
The confiscation of this cargo and the elimination of this illicit construction represent much more than an economic loss for criminal organizations. Every kilo of drugs that does not reach the streets means fewer resources to finance violence, fewer young people exposed to consumption, more protected lives and more opportunities for new generations to build their future away from illegal activities.
Source: Colombian National Army - Fourth Division Press
