3 TONS OF COCAINE SEIZED IN ECUADOR

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador -- Authorities seized three tons of unrefined, pure
cocaine in an abandoned warehouse in the biggest drug bust in Ecuador since
1994, police said Wednesday.

The cocaine was found Tuesday night in an industrial area outside this
coastal city, 165 miles southeast of the capital Quito, a police statement
said.

There were no arrests, but police were searching for a "network" of
traffickers in connection to the seizure, the statement said. An anonymous
tip led police to the warehouse, where they found the cocaine packed into
123 boxes.

About 70 percent of the confiscated drugs consisted of coca paste, an
unrefined form of cocaine. The haul had an estimated U.S. street value of
$130 million, police said.