Martin Red
09-05-2003, 04:54 AM
Police are examining bonds with a face value of over $6bn (£3.8bn) seized during an operation against Colombian drug traffickers to see if they are genuine.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39131000/jpg/_39131786_ap203bodydrugs.jpgColombia is one of the world's largest producers of cocaine
Officers are also thought to have picked up 55,000 ecstasy tablets, 15kg of amphetamines and £7m of cars, jewellery, property and cash in a painstaking investigation.
They were attempting to smash a Colombian drugs and money cartel.
The seizures came after the National Crime Squad (NCS) swooped on addresses in north London and Essex during two raids in July and August.
But news of the action only emerged on Thursday after the Colombian authorities, who worked with the British police in the operation, announced details of the raid.
The Attorney General's office in the Colombian capital Bogota said the stocks and bonds, which had a face value of $6bn, were seized in London, together with several million dollars in cash and drugs.
Drugs haul
Nine men - all British - charged with conspiracy to import cocaine and conspiracy to supply ecstasy appeared in court in the UK over the summer. One is understood to have a house in Colombia.
They are due to appear at Winchester Crown Court in November.
Four more people were also arrested in Britain, although they have been released on police bail, and two more were arrested in Colombia.
A spokeswoman from the NCS said Southampton-based officers, assisted by Customs and Excise, stumbled across the US bonds during a drugs raid on a house in July.
She said: "We went in there looking for drugs, searching for drugs - anything other than that is a bit of a bonus."
News of the raids was apparently not released to help the Colombian authorities with their investigations.
A Colombian official said information provided to Britain by the country's Technical Investigation Department allowed the seizures.
Guillermo Anibal Ortega, director of the Colombia's attorney general's office investigative unit, added: "This is a very important victory, because it represents the most overwhelming blow against drug trafficking and money laundering."
The drugs were allegedly sent from Colombia to Europe via countries such as Ecuador and Mexico.
Source = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3082744.stm
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39131000/jpg/_39131786_ap203bodydrugs.jpgColombia is one of the world's largest producers of cocaine
Officers are also thought to have picked up 55,000 ecstasy tablets, 15kg of amphetamines and £7m of cars, jewellery, property and cash in a painstaking investigation.
They were attempting to smash a Colombian drugs and money cartel.
The seizures came after the National Crime Squad (NCS) swooped on addresses in north London and Essex during two raids in July and August.
But news of the action only emerged on Thursday after the Colombian authorities, who worked with the British police in the operation, announced details of the raid.
The Attorney General's office in the Colombian capital Bogota said the stocks and bonds, which had a face value of $6bn, were seized in London, together with several million dollars in cash and drugs.
Drugs haul
Nine men - all British - charged with conspiracy to import cocaine and conspiracy to supply ecstasy appeared in court in the UK over the summer. One is understood to have a house in Colombia.
They are due to appear at Winchester Crown Court in November.
Four more people were also arrested in Britain, although they have been released on police bail, and two more were arrested in Colombia.
A spokeswoman from the NCS said Southampton-based officers, assisted by Customs and Excise, stumbled across the US bonds during a drugs raid on a house in July.
She said: "We went in there looking for drugs, searching for drugs - anything other than that is a bit of a bonus."
News of the raids was apparently not released to help the Colombian authorities with their investigations.
A Colombian official said information provided to Britain by the country's Technical Investigation Department allowed the seizures.
Guillermo Anibal Ortega, director of the Colombia's attorney general's office investigative unit, added: "This is a very important victory, because it represents the most overwhelming blow against drug trafficking and money laundering."
The drugs were allegedly sent from Colombia to Europe via countries such as Ecuador and Mexico.
Source = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3082744.stm