Within the framework of military operations in the Ayacucho Plus Operations Plan, troops of the Rapid Deployment Battalion n° 7, unit of the Rapid Deployment Force n° 3, carried out the finding and dismantling of a cocaine hydrochloride production laboratory in the Área Libre village, municipality of Tibú, department of Norte de Santander.
The operation was carried out in coordination with the Anti-Narcotics Directorate (DIRAN). This laboratory, apparently, would belong to the residual organized armed group, GAO-r, Structure 33 of the Magdalena Medio Bloc, a group that commits crimes in this region of the country.
During the operation, the troops found an improvised structure with a plastic roof, and a wooden floor. 310 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride and more than 900 gallons of liquid supplies were found by troops at the scene, including acetone, sulfuric acid, fuels and substance in suspension of the alkaloid. In the same way, 250 kilograms of caustic soda and various elements used for the production of the narcotic were found by troops, such as microwave ovens, hydraulic press, vacuum packing machine, precision scales and large-capacity containers.
Through this result of the military operation, an estimated loss of more than 1,623 million pesos was possible, directly hitting the illicit activities of this criminal structure and weakening one of the main links of its drug trafficking chain.
Source: Second Division Press
