Police seize $30 million of cocaine and marijuana in Chile drugs raid

It is thought the drugs were going to be sold domestically rather than to overseas buyers

The moment one of the suspects is arrested during the raid (ITN)

Authorities in Chile have confiscated nearly 2.4 tonnes of drugs ahead of the nation’s independence celebrations later this month.

The operation in Melipilla, in the Chilean capital Santiago, was the second-biggest drugs raid this year and saw almost $30 million (£22.8 million) worth of cocaine and marijuana seized.

The Policía de Investigaciones de Chile (PDI) carried out the raid on Sunday and has arrested 12 people for illegal drug possession.

In dramatic footage, the PDI set off smoke bombs and arrested suspects at the scene, one man was apprehended as he attempted to get into his truck.

The drugs were intended for domestic sale throughout the country during Chile’s Fiestas Patrias festival, according to one regional prosecutor. The two-day celebration starts on the 18 September but can run for as long as a week unofficially.

Around 30 tonnes of drugs have been hauled in through police crackdowns so far this year, the total amount seized in 2013.

The raid comes as President Michelle Bachelet clamps down on drug crime in Chile.