A new investigation has revealed damning details about how drug cartels in Peru are airlifting huge amounts of cocaine from a remote airstrip that's within view of one of the country's military base, ABC News reported. The report alleges that a single engine aircraft lands on that airstrip as many as four times in a day, before taking off with up to 300 kilograms of semi-processed cocaine destined for Bolivia.
The airstrip is located in a treacherous valley where there are no roads, and only Peru's military bases are to be found in the area. The investigation wondered why, despite being a short distance away, the Peruvian military hasn't done anything to stop the "narco planes" from landing and taking off.
The Associated Press, which carried out the explosive investigation, was able to obtain exclusive footage showing two instances of these drug planes land and take off with Cocaine, according to The Public Opinion. Surprisingly, the two videos were taken by Peru's drug police. When asked why they never intervened or attempted to raid the airstrip, they claimed that heavily armed sentinels guarded the airstrip with powerful, automatic weapons - something the drug police lack.
Wilson Barrantes, a retired general who has been on the front line of accusing the country's military of tolerating drug cartels, said that the army could not be trusted to be in that valley, where most of Peru's cocaine is produced.
"It's like putting four street dogs to guard a plate of beefsteak," said Barrantes.
The investigation had heads rolling in Peru immediately, with a cabinet meeting on Wednesday resolving to create a joint committee to investigate the claims, according to Yahoo News. Jakke Valakivi, the defense minister, promised that the air force and defense ministry would jointly conduct investigations, calling the report as "tendentious."
