Police in Guatemala report the seizure of almost $3.2 billion in drugs and assets belonging to drug traffickers so far in 2011.
Updated statistics from Guatemala’s National Civil Police (PNC) indicate that seizures through October of this year are valued at approximately $3.16 billion. With more than two months to go in 2011, reported seizures are already 44 percent higher than the total
value of drugs and assets confiscated in 2010.
The report from the PNC details the quantities and estimated value of drugs and assets seized between January and mid-October of this year, including nearly 14,000 marijuana plants worth over $5 million and 2,677 kilos of cocaine worth more than $34 million. The total value of drug, property and cash seizures reported by the PNC for 2011 is roughly equivalent to 30 percent of the country's national debt.
In addition to drugs, the PNC report that they seized a variety of international currency, including lempiras, pesos, dollars and euros, as well as vehicles and other property. Police in Guatemala also detained 1,363 individuals on charges related to drug trafficking, at a rate of approximately 136 per month, a slight decrease from the average 152 detained per month in 2010.
The new data indicates that Guatemala’s police have confiscated just under $600,000 in drugs and assets in the three months since their last report.
