Bolivia seizes 296 kilograms of cocaine in Cochabamba and La Paz in two operations
The Felcn confiscated 296 kg of cocaine in operations on 6 and 7 October, dealing a 1.4 million dollar blow to drug trafficking.
Clandestine aircraft and intercepted vehicle in two anti-narcotics strikes
Bolivia's Special Force to Combat Drug Trafficking (Felcn) confiscated 296 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride in two operations carried out on 6 and 7 October in the regions of Cochabamba and La Paz, according to infobae.com reporting via EFE. The economic damage to drug trafficking amounts to approximately 1.4 million dollars in total.
Deputy Minister for Comprehensive Action against Drug Trafficking Dorian Badani stated that the operations are part of the new anti-drugs policy of Rodrigo Paz's government, in which "there are results every day".
First operation: aircraft with 199 kilograms in Cochabamba's Trópico
The first operation took place in the Trópico of Cochabamba, a coca leaf producing zone in the centre of the country. Anti-narcotics agents found an aircraft on a clandestine airstrip with 180 packages of drugs inside.
"The total weight was 199 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride," declared Felcn's national director, Marcelo Núñez. In addition to the drug, the aircraft, a mobile telephone and two firearms were seized. The blow to drug trafficking in this operation was valued at 1,070,475 dollars.
Second operation: five arrested in Puerto Acosta
The second operation was carried out in Puerto Acosta, a locality in the La Paz highlands. Agents intercepted a private vehicle inside which they found packages of narcotics.
"97.5 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride were confiscated and five people were arrested who were in the vehicle, four women and the driver," Núñez reported. This seizure represented damage to drug trafficking of 389,920 dollars.
New anti-drugs policy and 'Secure Borders Plan'
The Bolivian government launched a new anti-drugs policy financed with 492 million dollars, following a UN report that registered a 7 per cent increase in coca crops during 2025. Coca leaf is recognised in Bolivia's 2009 Constitution for its traditional, medicinal and cultural uses, although part of its production is diverted towards cocaine manufacturing.
The Executive is also working on the 'Secure Borders Plan' to strengthen control in border zones considered critical and to curb the advance of organised crime. The government maintains that several recent crimes in the eastern region of Santa Cruz are linked to a dispute between Brazilian criminal organisations Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (CV) for control of drug trafficking routes on the border between Bolivia and Brazil, a conflict that has increased violence in areas of the Chiquitania and Bolivian Amazon regions.
Source: Google News BO — Crime