13 tons of cocaine bound for the U.S. seized from ferry in Pacific, Panama says

Courtesy: CBS

Panamanian authorities on Tuesday announced a large seizure of U.S.-bound cocaine on a ferry in the Pacific, at a time Washington is upping an anti-drug military deployment in Latin America.

Prosecutor Julio Villareal told reporters approximately 13.2 tons of drugs, “in this case cocaine,” were seized in an operation Monday, and 10 people arrested.

It was one of the biggest such hauls in Panamanian waters to date, he said.

In a social media post, the prosecutor’s office released several images of the alleged drugs, saying that a total of 11,562 packages were seized.

Panama is a transit point for cocaine from South America, mainly Colombia, destined for the United States — the world’s largest consumer.

Villareal said Venezuelans, Ecuadorians and Nicaraguans were among th