BOGOTA- Colombian national police confiscated 8 tonnes of cocaine along the border with Panama, the government said on Sunday, in what may be one of the largest seizures in the country in recent years.

The haul, with an estimated value of $240 million, was discovered in an underground hideaway on a banana plantation in the municipality of Turbo in Antioquia department, officials said.

"The biggest seizure of drugs in history. A hit against criminals," Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said on Twitter.