Honduran security forces located over 900 kilos of cocaine hidden in a mangrove area in the southern part of the country on 21 August. The discovery adds to another 648 kilos seized recently in the same region, totalling more than 1.5 tonnes confiscated in less than 48 hours.
Spokesperson for the Secretariat of Security Edgardo Barahona indicated that authorities do not rule out that the quantity of confiscated drugs will increase as searches advance. The second shipment, distributed in 37 bundles, was apparently transported in speedboats and concealed among the vegetation of a mangrove located between the departments of Choluteca and Valle, which border Nicaragua and El Salvador, respectively.
Agents from the National Anti-Narcotics Police Directorate and Special Forces detected the packages taking advantage of the tide's decline during operations initiated after the first seizure of 648 kilos, estimated to be worth 175 million lempiras (around 6.5 million US dollars) on the market, according to authorities.
The National Police and the Special Prosecutor's Office Against Organised Crime are working to identify the criminal structure responsible, as well as the origin and destination of the shipment, Barahona said. He added that so far no one has been arrested.
According to official figures, cocaine seized in Honduras before these discoveries amounted to more than 1.5 tonnes so far this year, with an estimated economic impact of about 500 million lempiras (around 19 million US dollars) for structures dedicated to drug trafficking. National and foreign traffickers use Honduran territory to send drugs from South America to the United States.
