Colombia seizes 358 kilograms of cocaine bound for Tripoli
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Webdo
Colombian authorities have seized 358 kilograms of cocaine hidden in electricity generators, bound for Tripoli in Libya. According to President Abelardo De La Espriella, the consignment had left Panama and transited through the port of Cartagena.
Colombian authorities have seized 358 kilograms of cocaine bound for Tripoli, the Libyan capital, President Abelardo De La Espriella announced, according to information relayed by Webdo. The consignment was concealed in two electricity generators inside a shipping container. It had left Panama, then transited through the port of Cartagena on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, before being seized as part of the security operation ‘Esmeralda’.
This seizure is part of a tally of two anti-drug operations that intercepted 878 kilograms of narcotics in total. The security forces also seized 520 kilograms of cannabis intended for the Colombian market.
The case is part of a series of discoveries on maritime routes linking Latin America with North Africa. In May 2026, Spanish authorities intercepted a vessel carrying a considerable quantity of cocaine in the Atlantic, bound for Libya. In a report published in January 2026, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) describes Libya as a transit, storage and redistribution point for several substances, including cocaine, towards African, European and Middle Eastern markets. Tunisia is directly affected: last February, nearly 30 kilograms of cocaine were seized at the Ras Jedir border crossing, in a vehicle coming from Libya.
