Operation Sweetness: Paraguay finds 4 tons of cocaine stashed in sugar in its biggest drug bust yet

Associated Press

ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) — Authorities in Paraguay have announced the largest cocaine seizure in the country’s history as officials were surprised to find more than 4 tons of the drug stashed inside a shipment of sugar bound for Belgium. President Santiago Peña on Tuesday expressed hope the seizure would disrupt the trade and said police were pursuing those responsible. The record haul, valued at roughly $240 million, comes as Paraguay’s bustling river ports have turned into a key drug trafficking route in the region. On Monday, agents from Paraguay’s anti-drug agency, known as Senad, started unpacking the shipping containers filled with 40-kilogram (88-pound) sacks of sugar at a river port in the capital of Asunción.