This decisive blow to the illegal finances of this organized armed group was achieved through the seizure of approximately one ton of cocaine hydrochloride.
As part of the operational deployment of troops from the Command Against Drug Trafficking and Transnational Threats (CONAT) across the country, based on intelligence information,
the location and controlled destruction of a laboratory used by members of the Juan Fernando Porras Martínez Front of the ELN GAO for the processing of cocaine hydrochloride was achieved.The coca-growing complex, which housed 15 rustic structures with wooden frames and plastic and zinc roofs, used for processing, storage, housing, and the laboratory’s logistical operations, was located by troops from the 2nd Anti-Narcotics Brigade in the rural area of Peña de la Virgen, in the municipality of Villacaro.
In the mega-laboratory, soldiers from the 8th Ground Operations Battalion, along with personnel from the National Police’s Anti-Narcotics Directorate,
found 960 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride, 264 gallons of cocaine hydrochloride in suspension, and 165 gallons of cocaine base in suspension. In addition, they seized 1,558 gallons of liquid supplies and 250 kilograms of solid supplies, as well as materials and equipment necessary for processing the alkaloid.
With the execution of this military operation, which was supported by the Army Aviation and the Colombian Aerospace Force and based on intelligence information,
the ELN GAO will lose 5.459 billion pesos in revenue from this illicit economy.During the military search of this laboratory set up by the ELN in a municipality of Norte de Santander that is difficult to access due to the terrain and the absence of other illegal armed groups, soldiers located an improvised explosive device that the group intended to activate to attack the troops.
The National Army, with its elite unit in the fight against drug trafficking, continues the military offensive with the mission of further disrupting illicit finances, protecting the environment, and safeguarding the lives of Colombians.
Source:
Second Division Press.
