Major drug bust in Honduras with heist worth $100 million (VIDEO)
A Honduran counternarcotics policeman stands watch during the incineration of nearly half a ton of cocaine seized in a joint operation with US DEA agents in Honduras.
Honduran authorities on Saturday busted a huge drug ring, taking some $100 million in assets in one the nation's largest such seizures in a decade, according to a government spokesman cited by Reuters.
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Carlos Vallecillo said anti-drug officers raided 24 areas in the north, where they reportedly seized 700 heads of cattle, 150 vehicles and made four arrests.
Vallecillo did not reveal the name of the drug cartel — many of which operate with Mexico — but he did say they had engaged in money-laundering and identified those arrested as two Colombian pilots, a local policeperson and a Honduran resident, said Reuters.
Drug trafficking adds to Honduras' massive crime problem. The nation has one of the highest homicide rates in the world, according to the United Nations.
Here's a recent Al Jazeera report examining why criminality has taken root in there: