World Cup replica filled with cocaine seized

BOGOTA - Colombian police confiscated a replica of the World Cup trophy filled with 11 kg of cocaine that was being sent by mail to Spain, officials said.

Anti-narcotics police commander General Francisco Patino said Saturday that agents had inspected the package at a postal warehouse after a scan showed a design imperfection.

“It is the first time in Colombia that a golden statuette similar to the World Cup has been discovered,” a police report said.

No arrests have been made, and police were trying to track clues from the reported destination in Madrid.

Authorities in Colombia and the Netherlands also reported the arrest of five people suspected to be members of an international drug trafficking ring that shipped cocaine through the Dutch Antilles to Europe.

Two of the suspects were arrested in Colombia, while the other three were captured by Dutch authorities in Aruba, police said.

Colombian officials said three of the suspects were wanted in the US on charges of money laundering and drug trafficking.