Cuba Seized Nine Tons of Drugs in 2011

Havana, Jan 13. -Cuban authorities seized 9,181 kilograms of drugs in 2011, as part of a governmental strategy based on preventive actions and a sustained battle against this scourge.It was the largest amount of drugs confiscated over the past seven years in Cuba, where the police reported that no airplane has been involved in drug-trafficking activities since July 2009.

Forces from the Cuban Interior Ministry thwarted two naval operations, in which three citizens from the Bahamas and one from Jamaica were arrested, while 50 vessels suspected of being involved in drug trafficking operations were detected.

Nearly 400 cases of drugs found on Cuban coasts were reported (291 more than in 2010), and authorities seized 8,508 kilograms drugs, mostly marihuana (8,418), cocaine (81.7) and hashish (7.42).

At airports, 22 operations were frustrated, including one in transit to Europe, in which 27 people were arrested, mainly Cubans living abroad or with permission to travel abroad. In these actions, authorities seized 30.5 kilograms of drugs.

Although health authorities were able to save the lives of several people carrying drug in their body, they could not save an Ecuadorian woman who was carrying 810 grams of cocaine distributed in 27 bags in her stomach and her vagina. (Prensa Latina)