Colombian bust nets 6 tons of cocaine

CARTAGENA, Colombia -- (AP) -- In one of the largest cocaine busts in Colombia, police have seized at least six tons of cocaine in a warehouse in this Caribbean port city.

Police reported late Thursday that they had found three tons of cocaine, but that figure was doubled Friday as searches continued. Police said they believed another container yet to be searched might hold another three tons of cocaine.

The cocaine was discovered in metal drums marked as containing polyester resins, inside six containers that were to be loaded onto a cargo ship destined for Cuba, said Col. Benjamin Nuñez, the deputy commander of the anti-narcotics police.

Police, who were tipped off by an informant, arrested a man whose name appeared on documents as the cargo's owner. No further details were immediately available.

It was the second major cocaine seizure this year in Cartagena, a tourist resort known for the colonial stone forts preserved from its days as treasure city of the Spanish Main.

In July, authorities seized seven tons of cocaine disguised as a shipment of nylon. The cocaine was headed for the United States by way of Mexico. Police said that bust was the biggest seizure of pure cocaine ever made in Colombia, which produces an estimated 700 tons annually.

The country produces more than 80 percent of the cocaine sold in the United States and a growing share of the heroin.

Cartagena was the site this week of a conference of the hemisphere's defense ministers, at which military leaders from around the Americas pledged greater cooperation in the fight against illegal narcotics.