4 Tons Of Cocaine Found On Ship

Authorities searching a cargo ship seized last week found another ton of cocaine Tuesday, bringing the total seizure in Venezuela’s largest single bust to 4 tons.

The Panama-registered Ricky II was detained Friday in bustling Puerto Cabello, 90 miles west of Caracas, after the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration tipped off local officials that scores of cocaine bags were hidden in a section of the hull.

The ship had departed from Barranquilla, Colombia.

The ship was listed as being bound for Trinidad, but Luis Alberto Camacho, head of the National Guard’s anti-drug unit, said the size of the drug cargo suggested it was destined for a large market like Europe or the United States.

Police detained all nine crew members.

It is the largest cocaine seizure in Venezuelan history and approaches the 5.2 tons seized in all of 1996, according to government figures.