EVANGELICAL PASTOR CAPTURED WITH 45 KILOS

Authorities in Alta Verapaz have issued a "maximum alert" after having
found out that there are 445 kilos of cocaine still circulating.

This information was obtained after Alberto Pitam, the pastor of the
evangelical church at Cubilhuitz, Alta Verapaz, was arrested as he was
attempting to negotiate the sale of 45 kilos of cocaine. After several
months of investigation, Antidrug police forces obtained information that
the Finca Dolores was being used as a storage center for the drug, and that
during the course of the week Pitam would make a sale.

What worries the Antidrug police is that another 445 kilos of cocaine are
still freely circulating in Alta Verapaz. The suspects confessed to selling
several kilos of cocaine before their capture, at Q5,000 each. At the same
time, a judge in Coban has come under suspicion for dragging his feet when
issuing search warrants for several homes, which allowed the suspects to
escape.