Colombian national police confiscated 8 metric tons of cocaine along the border with Panama, the government said on Sunday (May 15) , in what may be one of the largest seizures in the country in recent years. <br /> <br />The haul, with an estimated value of $240 million, was discovered in an underground hideaway on a banana plantation in the municipality of Turbo in Antioquia department, officials said. <br /> <br />"The biggest seizure of drugs in history. A hit against criminals," Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said on Twitter. <br /> <br />Three people were arrested in the operation. <br /> <br />Defence Minister Luis Carlos Villegas said the drugs belonged to the Clan Usuga crime gang. The United States has offered a $5 million reward for the capture of the gang's leader. <br /> <br />"There are nine tons of which by the New York street value is worth U$ 250 million, so this is a blow to the finances of the Usuga family and narcotraffickers in general in the Uraba region of Colombia," the minister confirmed in a statement. <br /> <br />Colombia produces some 442 tonnes of cocaine annually, according to the United Nations. Colombian authorities seized 252 tonnes of the narcotic in 2015.
