Colombia seizes 7 tons of cocaine bound for Europe worth $250 million in biggest haul since 2005

Colombian authorities seize $250 million worth of cocaine from boat headed to the Netherlands

The narcotic was stashed in almost 7,000 tiny packages and weighed a total of 7 tons

This is the largest bust in the South American nation since 2005



Colombian police intercepted 7 tons of cocaine headed to the Dutch port of Rotterdam in one of the biggest such busts in years.



The narcotics have a street value of at least $250 million and were found stashed in 6,900 tiny packages in a container in this Caribbean port city along with bottles of pineapple conserves.



The packages were stamped with logos such as 'Yamaha' and 'KIA' indicating the various criminal gangs behind the shipment.

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Haul: Police officers stand guard over seized packages of cocaine displayed for the press at a police base in the Caribbean seaport of Cartagena, Colombia on Thursday, April 10, 2014

Rodolfo Palomino is the head of Colombia's national police and said it was the biggest seizure since 15 tons were found along the Pacific coast in 2005. Colombia is one of the world's largest producers of cocaine.



'Exceptional intelligence work by our public force ... has made for one of the largest drug seizures in the history of Cartagena, where about seven tons of cocaine were seized, and this destabilizes the finances of criminal organizations,' Colombian Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon said.

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Interception: Colombia National Police Chief, Gen. Rodolfo Palomino walks on seized packages of cocaine displayed for the press on Thursday

Largest seizure for 9 years: Members of the Colombian National Police present to the media the 7 tons of cocaine confiscated in a port of Cartagena, Colombia on Thursday

The minister said the drug was discovered by the local authorities as the ship was to leave the port on the northern Caribbean coast for the Netherlands. It was camouflaged among pineapple pulp.



Colombian police have already seized a total of 25 tons of drugs this year.



This month alone, 42 kilos of drugs was intercepted on a container ship Cold Stream sailing under an Antillian flag.



The ship was coming from Costa Rica and was on its way to the southern Dutch port, Vlissingen.



In March, 240 kilos of cocaine on its way to Belgium was tracked down.

