Haiti makes biggest cocaine bust in over a decade

Port-Au-Prince, June 2: Haiti has seized 925 pounds (420 kg) of cocaine in the impoverished country's biggest drug bust in more than a decade, authorities said today.

Ten people, including four Haitian police officers and two Colombian nationals, were arrested, said Claudy Gassant, a top Haitian prosecutor.

The cocaine was discovered yesterday near the town of Leogane, about 19 miles (30 km) south of the capital Port-au-Prince, Gassant said. It was stashed in three vehicles, including one with official license plates.

Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, has long been billed as an increasingly important trans-shipment point for South American cocaine making its way into the United States and other markets.

Police spokesman Frantz Lerebours said Thursday's cocaine haul was the biggest in Haiti, which shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, since 1996.

Reuters>