General Tapias said that in a recent raid his men had captured a cocaine laboratory and, alongside it, a guerrilla bomb factory.

Then too, the outstandingly good cover provided for clandestine cocaine laboratories by the rolling hills that surround it.

Indeed, the only major explosion in recent days took place on Thursday at a cocaine laboratory in Medellin.

The National Police reported that they sprayed 55,715 acres and destroyed 938 cocaine laboratories last year.

In addition, drug agents say cocaine laboratories and other drug facilities are now becoming much more common in Mexico.

Mr. Fortunato was charged with operating a cocaine laboratory, the agent said.

Even by Colombian standards, that is a very large cocaine laboratory.

The three were on a mission to search for cocaine laboratories and drug planes when they were captured.

Colombia's leftist guerrillas have started providing protection for cocaine laboratories and landing strips.

One of the first clues came from the cocaine laboratory in Brooklyn.