Panama’s security forces seized 1,047 packages of a drug on the country’s Pacific coast and arrested three Colombian citizens for their alleged connection to the cache, official sources told Efe on Wednesday.
The drug shipment, alleged cocaine with an undetermined total weight, was distributed in 36 packages and was found inside a speedboat after being intercepted by agents of the National Aeronaval Service (Senan).
The anti-drug action was carried out in the Bay or Gulf of Parita, which covers part of the coastal area of ​​the provinces of Veraguas and Herrera (center), detailed the Public Ministry (MP, Prosecutor’s Office).
This seizure is the first of the year made by the National Aeronaval Service.
In 2021, Panama seized a total of 128.7 tons of drugs, a figure that last January 2 was classified as "historical" by the country’s president, Laurentino Cortizo, in a management report before Parliament.
"In 2021, as a result of 565 operations against organized crime and drug trafficking, 128.7 tons of drugs were seized (…) a historical record for the country", said Cortizo, when delivering a report on the semi-annual management of his Administration (2019-2024).
Panama is a transit country for drugs that are produced in South America and whose main market is the United States. More than 80 tons of the drug seized until last October (98.6 tons) was cocaine, according to official figures.
The authorities assure that 70% of the homicides that are committed in Panama are linked to drug trafficking and gangs.
.