In less than a month, the Bolivian Special Force to Fight Drug Trafficking (FELCN, in Spanish) destroyed more than 2 tons of cocaine and marijuana in different operations.
On February 17, agents incinerated 179 kilograms of cocaine seized in the town of El Alto during Operation Río Seco. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime was on hand to witness the destruction.
During the carnival period, the FELCN carried out 95 operations throughout the country, seizing 160 kg of drugs: 79 kg of cocaine hydrochloride, 77 kg of cocaine base, and 4 kg of marijuana.
“The operational units managed to destroy five cocaine factories, apprehend 18 people (nationals and foreigners), and seize seven vehicles,” the FELCN reported in a statement.
On February 12, agents were guarding the Bautista Saavedra area, in El Alto city, when a woman’s behavior caught their attention. “The woman was leaving a house and, when she noticed the police presence, she reentered the house suddenly,” the FELCN reported.
Agents found 179 kg of cocaine inside the house. The woman had both Peruvian and Bolivian nationalities, and authorities detained her and a Peruvian man.
On February 9, agents dealt another blow to narcotrafficking. “The FELCN seized 137 kg of cocaine hidden in air tanks in vehicles in Oruro department,” Colonel Edwin Pérez, FELCN general director, said in a press conference.
The force also incinerated 173 kg of cocaine in Santa Cruz department on February 3. That same day, agents found 132 kg of marijuana inside a tanker truck in Tarija department.
On January 26, the FELCN incinerated 587 kg of cocaine seized in Cochabamba. In another operation, on January 23, the police seized 505 kg of cocaine in the same department. “During the intervention, there was an exchange of fire,” the FELCN said. “Nine people were detained.”