Colombia

Further Cases of Drug Smuggling - Colombia

Packets of a suspected narcotic were found by the US Customs and DEA agents upon inspection of a ship that loaded at Colombia. Checks carried out before departing Colombia which included proof of drug searches by the ship's staff and the Colombian Navy showed no results.

Although the DEA and the Customs authorities accepted that the ship's staff were not responsible for the presence of the drugs, a large fine was levied at US$4,576,000 for approx. 50kg of narcotics.

Before departing Colombian ports, drug searches should be carried out and recorded in the ships records.