Authorities seized a “powerful” weapons depot allegedly destined for a deal between the FARC and “Rastrojos” illegal armed groups, according to Colombia’s Police director Oscar Naranjo.
“This is one of the most serious blows in recent months against the trafficking of arms to terrorist groups and criminal gangs,” said Naranjo.
The haul was seized from a van in Colombia’s third-largest city Cali and included 160 rifles, 6 mortar bases, four grenande launchers, four machine guns, 25 handguns, and 6,650 rounds of ammunition.
The weaponery was allegedly part of a transaction between the FARC and the “Comba” section of the Rastrojos drug trafficking organization, in which the weapons would be exchanged for large drugs shipments, reported newspaper El Espectador.
Members of Interpol and Colombia’s police also seized 50 mortar shells allegedly leftover from the same FARC structures that were hit last month, when 36 insurgents were killed. The heavy weaponery was reportedly found in a motor repair shop in Villavicencio, central Meta Department.
Four alleged FARC were also arrested in the Meta raid. Ana Graciela Arias Escobar, alias “La Boyaca,” a reported key figure in the rebel group’s operations in the region, was among the arrested. The others were identified by their aliases “Ephrem,” “Gentil Duarte“, “El Loco Ivan.”