Drug Bust in Colombia’s Navy

Authorities announced an embarrassing discovery Friday: a large stash of cocaine and heroin on the naval warship that the visiting Peruvian president was to tour.

Adm. Mauricio Soto, the commander of the Colombian navy, said nearly 37 1/2 pounds of cocaine and 22 pounds of heroin were found Thursday in the engine room of the Gloria -- Colombia’s flagship naval vessel, which is to embark next month on a six-month trip to the United States and Europe.

Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo was scheduled to go aboard the Gloria in Cartagena, a port city on the Caribbean, on Saturday to dine with military commanders and discuss increased cooperation in the fight against drug-trafficking.

Soto said three navy enlisted men have been detained in connection with the seizure.

Colombia is the world’s biggest producer of cocaine. Peru also produces coca, the main ingredient of the drug.

Toledo on Friday met with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe in Bogota, the capital, to explore ways to stem the flow of drugs, weapons and rebels across their porous border and to boost trade.

Toledo, marking his first presidential visit to Colombia, has expressed concern that Colombian rebels, who are heavily involved in drug-trafficking, are slipping across the 1,008-mile border and destabilizing Peru.

However, Toledo has dismissed the possibility that the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia has ties to remnants of Peru’s Shining Path insurgency movement, which waged a 20-year battle with government forces in Peru.

The remaining Peruvian insurgents reportedly provide protection for drug-traffickers in jungle regions of Peru where coca is grown.

Toledo and Uribe are also expected to explore a bilateral extradition treaty to help prosecute traffickers and rebels suspected of terrorism.