Drug Hauls and Kidnappings in Colombia Surged in 1998

National crime-fighters seized more than 59 tons of cocaine and 770 pounds of heroin, worth about $1 billion wholesale in the United States, in record drug hauls in 1998, according to a police report issued Saturday.

The National Police’s annual crime report also revealed that the Andean nation of about 40 million inhabitants extended its reputation as the kidnap capital of the world, with 2,388 reported abductions this year--a 30% surge from 1997.

Police attributed the similar percentage increase in illicit-drug seizures to improved intelligence and better cooperation with international anti-narcotics agencies.

According to U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration estimates, Colombia is responsible for 80% of the world’s cocaine and supplies about 60% of the high-grade heroin sold in the United States.

The DEA estimates that Colombian cocaine fetches about $17,500 per 2.2 pounds wholesale in the United States, while South American heroin goes for between $85,000 and $195,000 for the same amount.

Despite the demise of the once-powerful Medellin and Cali drug cartels, Finance Ministry officials calculate that between $3 billion and $5 billion in proceeds from drug trafficking is pumped into Colombia’s economy each year, making drugs the nation’s top export earner, ahead of oil and coffee.

The police made no suggestion that overall narcotics production in Colombia is on the rise, but the area covered by illegal drug crops has increased over the last two years, according to official data.

In addition to seizures, the police said they had stepped up an ambitious U.S.-backed drug-crop eradication program and fumigated at least 145,000 acres of coca leaf--the raw material for cocaine--and opium poppies, or about 20,000 acres more than last year.

But Colombian and U.S. officials say the country still has more than 196,000 acres of drug plantations--more than closest rivals Bolivia and Peru.

On the kidnapping front, police gave no ready explanation for the upsurge. At least 300 of the abduction victims were security force members still being held by leftist rebels. The guerrillas are demanding the release of more than 450 of their jailed comrades in exchange for the police and soldiers.

Authorities blame at least half of the total abductions on Marxist guerrilla groups, which use ransoms and extortion money to finance their 3-decade-old war against the state.

The London-based Hiscox Group, a leading provider of kidnap and ransom insurance, said earlier this year that more than half the kidnappings worldwide are carried out in Colombia.

The number of homicides reported across the country in 1998 was down to 26,350, a 9% drop compared with 1997, the police said.

But with about 53 slayings per 100,000 inhabitants, Colombia still has one of the highest per capita homicide rates in the hemisphere, with the vast majority of killings the result of crime rather than the country’s long-running civil conflict.