Honduran Law Enforcement Authorities seize
millions of US Dollars in Drugs
Picture Courtesy La Prensa

The National Honduran Police found 15 tons of amphetamine a amphetamine derivative used to produce synthetic drugs! It was in a sophisticated underground tunnel and storage system that also included climate control, allowing the drug traffickers to maintain the 344 bails of drugs for up to seven months without the risk of deterioration. There was evidence in the underground structure (with a ceiling as high as 7 meters high and seven meters wide) of a meth lab being readied for drug production.

Eight people were detained this past Saturday the 24th of November, 2012 in a seizure of over $100 million dollars’ worth of properties, including beach houses and various homes, along with 144 motor vehicles, 700 head of cattle, and five horses. Included in those arrested were two Columbian pilots staying at a hotel, where maps of clandestine airstrips that we have been hearing about all these years, were found, and led police to stake out the property they just seized along with the drugs. Also arrested was a Honduran National Police Sub Comissioner, Normando Rafael Lozano López, who besides having a very very nice home, was caught with $226,000 dollars in cash.  Also arrested in the war on drugs, were an Immigration Officer and four others. In total, 83 arrest warrants have been issued, and the investigation continues.

Police spokesman Mario Chinchilla, Director of the DIECP (Police Career Investigation and Evaluation Office), confirmed that 90 other officers are being investigated.  Chinchilla stated that Police Officer Normando Rafael Lozano López had passed the recent polygraph and confidence tests; however, he was already under investigation, and the fact, and the reason, he passed the tests, was that he was never asked the appropriate questions, which led to even more investigations. He also noted that when a person like Lozano López lives a lie, they believe it so much that they can fool a polygraph.

This is one of the largest drug busts in Honduras history, and is an ongoing investigation. We will keep you updated on any new developments. Check back; this is not over yet.

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