Laboratory producing cocaine found in Bogota

Bogota, Nov 21 (IANS/EFE) A laboratory for producing cocaine has been found in Bogota, the first of its kind ever to be found in the Colombian capital, with a capacity for producing 200 kg of the drug per month, police said.

Anti-narcotics police said in a communique Saturday that they occupied the facility in the Altamira neighborhood and arrested a man who was there.

“It’s worth mentioning that this is the first time a laboratory like this has been dismantled in Bogota, with a production capacity of 200 kg (of cocaine) a month,” the report said.

Authorities were able to locate the place after an informant alerted them to the presence of the lab in the Bogota neighborhood.

“At the scene, in order to cover up their illicit activity, the gang used a barn for breeding fighting cocks, hiding the smell of the chemicals with the smell of the fowls’ excrement,” the communique said.

Police have launched an investigation to determine whether the laboratory’s production was for a ring of drug traffickers or to supply an internal black market in the Colombian capital.

–IANS/EFE