Narino Territorio Under Fire AgainBOGOTÁ — Colombia's anti-narcotics police seized 5.7 tons of cocaine and cocaine base in a raid early Friday at a jungle laboratory reportedly run by the Black Eagles, the largest of the new generation of paramilitary groups terrorizing part of the South American nation.
The bust occurred in Narino state in Colombia's southwest, a coastal zone that has become a battleground for drug traffickers, right-wing militias and leftist rebels.
The laboratory was seized by the "Junglas" special anti-drug force in a raid supported by Black Hawk and Huey helicopters. The police were under fire as they descended on the traffickers' camp.
The Black Eagles are among armed groups that have replaced the 31,000 paramilitary fighters who demobilized in a government-sanctioned peace process in 2006.
Police found 4 tons of refined cocaine and 1.7 tons of cocaine base, which is convertible to more than 1 ton of pure cocaine. The lab complex, with its own power plant and 50 workers, was capable of producing an estimated 5 tons of pure cocaine a week.
Civilians in Narino increasingly have been caught in the middle of such conflicts. Last month, 18 members of the Awa indigenous community were killed in the central part of the state by leftist rebels for allegedly collaborating with Colombian armed forces.
The bust occurred in Narino state in Colombia's southwest, a coastal zone that has become a battleground for drug traffickers, right-wing militias and leftist rebels.
The laboratory was seized by the "Junglas" special anti-drug force in a raid supported by Black Hawk and Huey helicopters. The police were under fire as they descended on the traffickers' camp.
The Black Eagles are among armed groups that have replaced the 31,000 paramilitary fighters who demobilized in a government-sanctioned peace process in 2006.
Police found 4 tons of refined cocaine and 1.7 tons of cocaine base, which is convertible to more than 1 ton of pure cocaine. The lab complex, with its own power plant and 50 workers, was capable of producing an estimated 5 tons of pure cocaine a week.
Civilians in Narino increasingly have been caught in the middle of such conflicts. Last month, 18 members of the Awa indigenous community were killed in the central part of the state by leftist rebels for allegedly collaborating with Colombian armed forces.
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