Weekend security ops net 1,512 drug packs

TWO weekend operations by Panama’s Aeronaval and Border Police (Senan) led to the seizure of 1,512 drug packages.

The largest seizure occurred in the Bayano River, Chepo district, about 60 kilometers east of Panama City, when, on routine patrols, the aircraft units located 26 bundles with 1,294 packages of illicit substances yet to be determined, said the Ministry of Security (Minseg).

Senan  operations director, Commissioner Joe Laniado, said:  “ This is the largest drug seizure of 2018  by the Aeronaval Service.”

So far this year, according to Laniado, the Senan has seized 8.1 tons of drugs, , 15 percent more compared to the same period of 2017.

National Border Service (Senafront), Commissioner Erick Avila, said that packages in another seizure were thrown into the sea by several individuals who were traveling in a speedboat on the shores of the Mamitupu community in the Guna Yala region, on the Caribbean coast bordering Colombia.

The Senafront had the support of units of the of Colombian Navy (ANC), who gave chase to the small boat, whose crew entered Colombian territory, said Ávila.

Anti-drug prosecutor Xiomara Rodríguez said that the 1,512 drug packages will be subjected to field tests at the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences (Imelf), to determine the type of narcotics and their total weight.