There is a big story on the wires today about a huge cocaine bust in Panama -- 19.4 metric tons huge, to be precise.
UNITED States and Panamanian authorities have seized 19.4 tonnes of cocaine on board a ship in the Pacific, making what is thought to be one of the world's biggest maritime drug busts, Panama said today.
US anti-drug officials and Panamanian police found the narcotics hidden in the cargo area of a Panama-registered ship off the Central American nation's coast on the weekend.
Although there aren't many details to this story, the sheer quantity of cocaine involved should be a good indicator of the global underground market we are talking about here. If you do the math you are looking at about US$400 million in product down in one seizure -- and that's wholesale prices. This could easily be over one billion dollars worth of blow now taken off the retail market. Can you imagine such massive regulation and interference being tolerated in any other world market? I don't think so...
