Police on Wednesday seized 33 pounds (15 kg) of cocaine in a Rio de Janeiro shantytown, five of which were labeled with a symbol thought to represent Colombia’s largest guerrilla group. “This is the first time that we’ve found cocaine with a such a clear identification on it. It seems to be symbol linked to the FARC,” said Police Chief Ademir de Oliveira Silva, in a reference to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Silva said the cocaine, buried in a barrel in an abandoned chicken coop, carried the stamp of a blue cobra, a symbol frequently used on FARC paraphernalia. Brazilian authorities have long suspected that Rio’s drug lords maintain ties with the Marxist rebel group, believed to fund its four-decade-old war against the Colombian government through the lucrative cocaine trade. Brazilian officials accuse the FARC of crossing its Amazon border and forcing young Indian villagers to join their ranks or transport cocaine. Full Story
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