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BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - A top United Nations anti-drug official predicted cocaine prices in the United States and Europe will rise next year, reflecting the fruits of a six-year, U.S.-funded effort to eradicate drug production in Colombia.
Last year was a record-breaking year in the fight against drugs in Colombia. Authorities destroyed more than 340,000 acres of coca, the plant used to make cocaine; nearly 150 tons of cocaine were seized; and 1,098 clandestine cocaine-making factories were discovered and burned down, according to the Colombian government.
"Considering Colombia supplies 80 percent of the world cocaine market, we think prices are going to rise starting in 2006," said Sandro Calvani, director of the U.N.'s Office on Drugs and Crime in Colombia, in an interview with The Associated Press on Monday.
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