Colombian authorities have arrested 11 airport officials for allegedly offering for a fee the documents required for flights hired by the Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel to smuggle cocaine out of the country.
Andean authorities have been trying for years to crack down on foreign organized crime gangs, such as the Sinaloa cartel. These gangs buy cocaine from criminals in the country and transport it north, in particular to US and EU markets.
The gang also uses speedboats to transport drugs to Central American states off the coast of Colombia in the Pacific, police chief Jorge Nieto explained via Twitter.
The arrests of the 11 employees were made with the help of the US Federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), he clarified.
The planes used in the flights were leased both in Colombia and in Central American and Caribbean countries, according to police.