Troops of Mountain Battalion No. 9 of the Army’s Ninth Brigade, with judicial support from the National Police, seized 283 kilograms of marijuana in vereda Batán, in the municipality of Hobo, Huila.[1][2] The driver abandoned the pickup truck and fled as troops closed in, and no arrests were reported.[3][2][4] Troops placed the vehicle and the seized substance at the disposal of the competent authorities for judicial proceedings.[1][5][4]

Soldiers found several packages holding a total of 283 kilograms hidden in compartments in the seats and trunk of the pickup.[3][2][5][4] The Army estimated the load at about 566,000 doses, preventing a significant quantity from continuing into illegal distribution circuits.[3][2][5][4] It put the estimated impact on drug-trafficking economies at 504,296,000 pesos.[3][2][5][4] At an average of 3,000 pesos per dose, it gave a potential street-sale value near 1,698 million pesos.[3][2][5][4]

Military intelligence had identified suspicious movements of a vehicle in that part of Huila.[1][2][5][4] Troops then deployed to verify and control the area.[3][2][4] The Army said such Ninth Brigade operations keep drugs from reaching commercialization circuits with their social and public-health consequences.[3]

The authorities had not publicly established which organisation the drug belonged to or what its destination was.[2] The Ninth Brigade said it maintains interdiction operations in Huila’s 37 municipalities, using intelligence, territorial controls and coordination with the National Police to identify transport corridors.[2]