Panamanian police carry cocaine packages during a presentation to the media at the National Police Station in Panama City, Panama, Sept. 24, 2010. The Panamanian National Police confiscated about 3 tons of cocaine in an operation called “Belen 2010” in Colon, a city on the Caribbean coast. (Xinhua/Monica Rueda)

PANAMA CITY, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) — The Panamanian police has seized three tons of cocaine in a latest operation, a record amount so far this year, on its Atlantic coast, Panama’s National Police Deputy Director Edward Serracin said Friday.

The anti-drug operation took place on Thursday in Colon province, 80 km northwest of the capital. Police detected a suspicious speedboat and then started chasing it. After a shootout, police managed to intercept the boat, but the suspects escaped, Serracin said.

Besides cocaine, a large calibre rifle and a satellite radio were also found in the speedboat.

The Colombian armed forces also participated in the operation by sharing information with the Panamanian authority.

The coastal areas of Panama are often used by the Colombian and Mexican international drug-traffickers as a channel to enter the United States and the European countries. In 2009, the Panamanian authorities seized about 50 tons of cocaine.