As part of a joint and coordinated operation against illicit activities in the Colombian Orinoquia, the Colombian Navy, in coordination with Colombian National Army, the Colombian Aerospace Force and the National Police, found and dismantled a clandestine laboratory for the production of coca base paste in the rural area of Cumaribo, department of Vichada.
The operation was carried out in the Laguna Vieja sector, as part of the military operation effort contemplated in the Joint Strategic Plan Ayacucho-PLUS, aimed at affecting the logistical and financial resources of the Organized Armed Groups that commit crimes in this region of the country.
Thanks to intelligence work carried out by the Military Forces and the National Police, the troops of the Navy Infantry River Battalion No. 50, alongside Infantry Battalion No. 45 and with the support of resources of the Colombian Aerospace Force, executed a military search and area control maneuver that managed to find and destroy in controlled conditions the construction used for the production of alkaloids.
During the operation, a rudimentary laboratory, 329.5 kilograms of solid precursors, 305 gallons of liquid precursors and abundant elements used for the production of coca base paste were destroyed, including presses, barrels, fumigation pumps, hoses, tools and other elements used in the production of the alkaloid.
Through this result of the military operation, the logistical and economic capacity of the GAO-r Structure 44 Antonio Ricaurte of the Amazonas Bloc is directly affected, an organization that obtains important resources from drug trafficking to finance its criminal activities.
This operation hits not only the immediate production, but in the same way the reinvestment capacity of the illegal group, limiting the purchase of supplies, the payment to support networks and the financing of other illicit activities, such as illegal recruitment and the procurement of weapons.
The destruction of this construction represents a new blow against the chain of illicit drug production and is part of the permanent strategy of the Military Forces to weaken the sources of illicit financing that threaten the security, stability and well-being of the communities of the Orinoquía region.
During the operation, no arrests were made, and all the items were destroyed through controlled procedures, in accordance with established protocols.
Source: Press – Navy of Colombia
