Venezuela seizes 4.8 tons of liquid cocaine

Venezuela's Justice Minister Tareck El Aissamiin, right, checks the remains of a plane used by drug traffickers during a military operation to destroy a clandestine airstrip used by drug traffickers near the border with Colombia in Riecito, Venezuela. AP/Fernando Llano

CARACAS, Venezuela—Venezuela’s top security official says authorities have seized 4.8 metric tons (5.3 tons) of liquid cocaine.

Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami says National Guard troops arrested three suspects after they discovered the cocaine mixed with petroleum byproducts and hidden inside oil barrels.

The cocaine was going to be shipped to Mexico, which is often used as a transshipment point for illegal drugs destined for the United States.

El Aissami said Wednesday that authorities at the port of Maracaibo became suspicious when they learned the barrels of oil were going to be shipped to Mexico, a producer of petroleum.

He called Tuesday’s drug seizure one of the most significant confiscations in recent years.