Colombian police have seized more than two tons of marijuana hidden in a truck of refrigerated chicken near the Venezuelan border, reported local media Tuesday.
Authorities arrested the driver of the vehicle as he was passing through the city of Cucuta, the capital of the northern Norte de Santander department. Police surmised the marijuana, camouflaged among boxes of delicious chicken, originally came from greenhouses in Corinto, located in the southwest department of Cauca.
The recent haul by police is just the latest in a series of marijuana busts over the past few months. Counter-narcotics teams seized more than six tons of cocaine and eight tons of marijuana in several high profile raids across the country less than two weeks ago.
Colombian media quoted officials as saying 208 tons of marijuana were seized in the first eight months of this year, 73% of which came from the troubled Cauca region.
Counter-narcotics director of Colombia’s National Police, Luis Alberto Perez, reportedly blamed armed groups, such as FARC, for pressuring the local indigenous communities and farmers to plant illegal crops.