NEWS: Colombian Police Assault Cocaine Labs, page 1

Seven helicopter gunships skirted the steep mountainsides, then quickly descended on a coc aine lab, marked by a smoke grenade thrown by one of the raiders. As the heavily armed anti-narcotics police jumped from the hovering craft, accompanied by an informant wearing a ski mask, peasants who worked the coca fields and in the complex scampered away.

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Associated Press journalists accompanied the officers on the lightning raid Saturday, allowing them to see firsthand the type of dangerous operation that has put a crimp in Colombia's coc aine production.

So far this year, raids have destroyed 100 labs that convert coca paste -- made from the leaves of the coca bush -- into coc aine, said Col. Alvaro Velandia, deputy director of Colombia's anti-narcotics police.

Saturday's raid in the mountains of southwestern Colombia showed that precise intelligence, coordination between police and helicopter squadrons and swift action are needed to destroy the drug labs, often located in remote, rugged regions teeming with Marxist rebels, who make huge profits by controlling the drug trade.

After flying over vast coca fields hugging the base of steep mountainsides, the U.S.-made helicopters -- three Black hawks and four Hueys -- circled the coc aine-producing complex. One raider dropped a smoke grenade, its purple cloud billowing against a background of bright green coca bushes.

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And then they jump. That's when the danger begins, the moment of truth. The police quickly fanned out, assault rifles at the ready.

The 30 raiders, wearing olive green uniforms and helmets, noticed some earth recently had been overturned. They found buried barrels holding 44 pounds of coca base. The informant, who will be paid by police, looked on with satisfaction.

Imagine the money that these drug lords are making, "I used to work here," one said. "But I left because I had not been paid in 10 months. We were producing 3,306 pounds of coc aine every eight days."

Congradulations to these men, keeping the drug trade to a minumum, risking their lives, and comming out of a mission successful

[edit on 26-9-2004 by Banshee]