BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Cocaine is probably the last thing most people think about when buying roses.
But every year, police and growers in Colombia must work around the clock to make sure that the romance of Valentine’s Day isn’t spoiled by the drug, the nation’s other major export along with flowers.
As much as 330,000 pounds (150 metric ton)s of flowers leave Colombia on 30-plus jumbo cargo planes daily starting in late January, presenting an opportunity for the country’s ingenious drug cartels to penetrate the frenzied, overworked chain of suppliers and stash drugs amid the roses.
“Without a doubt we’re a target,” said Augusto Solano, president of the Colombian flower exporters’ association.