The specialized counternarcotics units of the Policía Metropolitana de Cartagena seized 3.826 kgs of cocaine in Colombia’s port city.
The discovery of the drugs confirmed that the Zetas now not only have their own direct connection for big-time shipments, they have also got some problems. This appears to be the second large load lost in Cartagena in the past four weeks.
The seized drugs are valued at some US$95 million dollars on American streets as drug dealers market them in small doses.
Police in Cartagena say the latest load of cocaine was bound for the Mexican port of Veracruz, which is on the edge of the Gulf Coast and a good way south of the Texas-Mexico border.
Making the type connections that could directly deliver such loads has long been seen as a problem for the Zetas, forcing the organization to rely on traditional organized crime activities such as extortion, kidnapping, etc. to make money. The Zetas have been synonymous with all manner of mayhem in order to make money.
When the Zetas – who were originally muscle for the Gulf Cartel – broke away on their own, they had plenty of muscle and viciousness, but lacked the connections to bring loads in on their own.
A ranking member of the Zetas confirmed as much to authorities when he was arrested last year, as noted in InSight Crime.
In December the Zetas also lost a 1.5 ton load in Cartagena.
