Cocaine Found in Herbal Remedy
Tue Jul 30, 9:45 AM ET
CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan customs officials have discovered a large shipment of cocaine concealed in dozens of bottles of "Cat's Claw," a South American herbal concoction popular in Europe.
Drug-sniffing dogs at Maiquetia international airport near Caracas were not fooled by the scent or the fancy packaging and found the 230-pound (103-kilogram) cocaine shipment, disguised as the herbal remedy and bound for Britain.
"The novelty here is the container. It's original," Gen. Jose Antonio Paez, anti-drug chief of Venezuela's National Guard, told a news conference on Saturday.
"This was going to London. Obviously, no one was going to suspect a cargo taking this type of product to London because in Europe there is great demand."
A Venezuelan customs official was detained in the case.
Advertised as a "miracle herb from the rain forest of Peru," the mixture called "Cat's Claw" or "Uncaria Tomentosa" claims curative powers for everything from cancer to herpes and is popular with natural health aficionados.
Venezuela shares a border with Colombia, the world's biggest cocaine producer, and is often used as a staging point for drug smuggling to the United States and Europe.
Venezuelan authorities have seized 8.15 tons of cocaine, 7.74 tons of marijuana and 188 kilograms of heroin so far this year, according the National Guard..
Venezuela's government has repeatedly denied requests by the United States to use the country's airspace in a regional effort to combat international drugs trafficking.
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