Venezuelan authorities have arrested six drug kingpins so far this year, including two Colombian citizens who were deported on Thursday, said Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami.

“This is the sixth detention of important drug-trafficking leaders of criminal organizations so far in 2012,” he said during a press conference in the Venezuelan capital city of Caracas.

The minister said that a Colombian police commission received the last two deported drug traffickers, Hector and Nelson Buitriago Parada, “so they can be judged for the crimes committed.”

The two had long been sought by Colombian authorities for multiple crimes including homicide.

The minister congratulated the director of the National Anti-Drug Office (ONA), Nestor Reverol, who is also vice minister of Prevention and Citizen Safety, for its intelligence work which allowed the country to arrest 81 kingpins of criminal organizations to date.

El Aissami informed said that Bashir Muhieddine, a Lebanese national who was sought by Colombian authorities for manslaughter and aggravated theft, will also be deported.

Drug Seizures Continue

Meanwhile, officials of the Bolivarian National Guard seized 484 pounds of cocaine on Wednesday, which was being transported in a truck by a Venezuelan citizen, José Ramírez, in the Andean state of Táchira, said El Aissami.

Another 466 pounds of cocaine were seized by Venezuelan authorities in Zulia state in northeastern Venezuela.

El Aissami stated: “This is an important indicator of the operative capacity of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces. Three hard blows against drug trafficking. We want to continue ratifying the government’s commitment to these kinds of operations.”

AVN / Press Office – Venezuelan Embassy to the U.S. / February 10, 2012