Guatemala's National Civilian Police (PNC) have made a record seizure of 1.7 tons of cocaine, according to news reaching here Monday.
Guatemala's Interior Minister Raul Velasquez told local media that the haul, packed in 85 sacks containing 20 kg each, was worth 20.3 million U.S. dollars.
Velasquez said five individuals transporting the shipment were arrested Sunday night. Two of them were in a truck with Honduran plates while the other three were aboard a BMW van traveling alongside, which was providing security to the main shipment.
The truck was halted as it tried to cross a bridge from Guatemala into Belize, causing a roadblock in the region.
Velasquez said the seizure was the result of intelligence work, and that the truck had been watched from the moment it entered the nation.
Police estimate that about 250 tons of cocaine, which is cultivated and purified in Colombia, is transported to Mexico and the United States via Guatemala each year.