Czech police swoop on Latin American drugs smuggling ring

Czech anti-drugs police say they have detained two men at the centre of a Latin American drugs smuggling ring. The two men, one a 24-year old Colombian citizen of Czech origin and his 27-year-old Czech partner, were arrested in the eastern city of Ostrava. Accomplices in Argentina and Peru were also arrested in an operation coordinated with those countries' officials, a spokesman for the National Anti-drugs Brigade said. The raids, which netted a total 21 kilograms of cocaine, followed a seventh-month investigation. Four kilograms were seized in the Czech Republic and tests showed them to be 95 percent pure. Czech police estimated the haul to have a street value of 120 million crowns (5.7 million dollars). The gang also had operations in Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Venezuela and Colombia. The two ringleaders could face jail sentences of up to 15 years.