Police in Louisiana say they have arrested a suspect after uncovering around $2 million worth of cocaine inside a home.
The St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office, located just outside of New Orleans, announced Monday that a 54-year-old was taken into custody “after deputies discovered more than 77 kilos of cocaine in a LaPlace home.”
“On Saturday, September 9, 2023, officers began an investigation at the LaPlace home,” it added. “During the course of the investigation, packages of cocaine were discovered. About 77 kilos of cocaine with a street value of about $2 million were confiscated.”
The 54-year-old suspect – who has not been publicly identified – is now charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine, which is a felony.
COLOMBIAN COCA CROPS, USED TO MAKE COCAINE, AT AN ALL-TIME HIGH LAST YEAR, UN SAYS
The cocaine found by the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana. (St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office)
Police say the investigation into the discovery remains ongoing.
An image released by the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office shows bricks of cocaine piled on top of a table after they were recovered by police.
Some of the bricks have the word “Jeep” on them while others have an image of the United Kingdom’s flag.
The news emerged as the U.N. says cultivation of Colombian coca crops, which is used to make cocaine, reached an all-time high in the South American country last year.
The new findings on coca growing were published over the weekend by the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime, which said nearly 570,000 acres of farmland in Colombia were planted with coca in 2022, a 13% increase from the previous year.
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The St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office says the cocaine was found at a home in LaPlace, which is located outside of New Orleans. (St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office)
The South American nation is the world’s largest exporter of cocaine, according to The Associated Press. Colombia provides 90% of the cocaine sold in the United States each year.
Earlier this year, Maryland police arrested 10 people, including a drug “kingpin,” in connection with a long-term investigation that led to the seizure of $2 million worth of cocaine, the largest cocaine bust in Anne Arundel County Police history.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown made the announcement in June, saying drug traffickers were operating in and around Severn and Glen Burnie and face up to 22 counts including conspiracy to distribute, possession of narcotics with distribution intent and firearms charges.
The U.N. recently said cultivation of Colombian coca crops, which is used to make cocaine, reached an all-time high in the South American country last year. In this image, police patrol a coca field as hired farmers uproot coca shrubs as part of a manual eradication campaign of illegal crops in San Miguel on Colombia’s southern border with Ecuador, on Aug. 15, 2012. (AP/Fernando Vergara)
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Along with more than 18 kilograms of cocaine, members of the Anne Arundel County Police Department, Drug Enforcement Administration and the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Unit seized nearly two dozen firearms and various other drugs including heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine and MDMA.
Fox News’ Greg Wehner and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
