Colombian anti‑drug forces seize massive cocaine lab in Nariño

The Colombian Command Against Narcotrafficking and Transnational Threats (CONAT), together with the Colombian Aerospace Force, the police DIJIN, Interpol and the U.S. FBI, raided a large cocaine‑processing complex in the vereda Vargas of Santa Cruz de Guachavés, Nariño. The site comprised five structures and a central depot, with three underground pools holding about 32,580 gallons of cocaine in the making.

Authorities seized 1,800 kg of finished cocaine, 2,500 kg of solid precursors and 35 industrial items used for processing. The operation targeted the armed group Comuneros del Sur, linked to the José Luis Cabrera Ruales company, which could produce roughly four tons of cocaine per month for export via the Pacific coast to Central America and the United States. The raid impaired the group’s illicit finances by about 162.3 million Colombian pesos and prevented the sale of an estimated 1.8 million doses.