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Police in Sierra Leone had arrested a total of 58 suspects

Police in Sierra Leone said Tuesday they had arrested a total of 58 suspects, including a number of foreigners, in connection with Sunday's record cocaine bust in the West African state.Deputy Inspector-General Oliver Somassa said those detained included Americans, Mexicans, Colombians, Venezuelans, Brazilians and nationals from Guinea-Bissau and Nigeria. He did not give precise figures.Others included local airport officials and five police officers. An air traffic controller and an employee of a bank at the airport were picked up trying to cross into Guinea, Superintendent Frank Sesay said.Sources said the suspects were being detained at the maximum security Pademba Road prison in the capital Freetown. A checkpoint manned by armed guards was set up on the main road to the prison on Tuesday evening.
Somassa said police were still searching the area around the airport in an effort to track down other suspects."We have made a lot of progress and we are on top of the affair," he said.The arrests follow the discovery on Sunday of 600 kilos (1,322 pounds) of cocaine in an airplane bearing a fake Red Cross emblem at Freetown's international Lungi airport.Police said the plane had come from Venezuela, which is an important exporter of cocaine shipments destined for Europe.The seizure is a record for Sierra Leone and one of the biggest drugs hauls this year in West Africa.Transport and Aviation Minister Kemoh Sesay said Tuesday maritime and port authorities had been ordered to step up checks on all boats in local waters.
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