CONFISCATED DRUG MONEY MISSING

BOGOTA -- Colombia's Comptroller General, Carlos Ossa Escobar, has
complained that property confiscated from drug traffickers and placed with
the National Drug Administration (DNE) for safekeeping has disappeared from
the agency's storerooms.

The losses in cash and jewels might total as much as 172 billion pesos
(close to $ 73 million), Ossa Escobar said.

Speaking before a congressional committee, Ossa Escobar, who is responsible
for maintaining an inventory of government property and auditing state
finances, said some 3.5 billion pesos ($ 1.1 million) in cash seized from
several drug lords were "missing."

Ossa Escobar directly blamed the DNE, adding that the losses, corresponding
to the years 1999 and 2000, were only discovered after his office conducted
an audit.