Venezuela seizes 5 tons of drugs

edition.cnn.com Sunday, March 9, 2003 Posted: 1641 GMT (12:41 AM HKT)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuelan soldiers seized more than 5 metric tons (5.5 short tons) of cocaine and 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of marijuana in a remote fishing town, El Nacional newspaper reported Sunday.

Nine people, all Venezuelans, were arrested in the drugs haul in the coastal town of Carupano, Sucre state, 400 kilometers (250 miles) east of Caracas, said state prosecutor Jose Guerrero. Guerrero was not available for further comment.

The seizure was the culmination of more than a month's intelligence work by the National Guard's anti-narcotics unit, the Venezuelan government and international agencies.

The cocaine, in 5,020 1-kilogram (2.2-pound) packets, was being stored in sacks inside two beach front houses under armed guard. The marijuana was found in the same place.

The drugs were believed to have come from neighboring Colombia and were destined for the Caribbean island of Trinidad before being dispatched to the United States and Europe, El Nacional reported.