Authorities on Monday confiscated an SUV, made to look like an official vehicle of the Organization of American States (OAS), reportedly used to transport drugs and arms from a home in Colombia’s third largest city, Cali.
The late model Toyota Land Cruiser Prado was disguised with counterfeit OAS badges and logos of the peace organization “MAPP-OEA” in an attempt to transport the illegal contraband without attracting the attention of the police.
“The authorities are extremely worried because they [drug traffickers] are using emblems of international organization to commit crimes,” said Jorge Perdomo, Colombia’s vice prosecutor general. He added, “It’s necessary to establish a mechanism of control of the cars that represent the organizations.”
Perdomo also said that Colombian authorities contacted the chiefs of security of the OAS when they found out about the car.
Authorities believe the vehicle is associated with the Narvaez Reina (also called the “Los Culimochos”) drug trafficking syndicate that allegedly transports cocaine from the coast of the southwest Nariño department to the United States via Mexico.