Authorities seize $7 billion in assets from drug ring

BOGOTA, Colombia -- British and Colombian authorities seized nearly $7 billion in securities from an international drug and money-laundering ring, Colombia's attorney general's office said Thursday.

The stocks and bonds were seized in London, along with about $11 million in cash and drugs such as ecstasy and speed, Guillermo Anibal Ortega, director of the attorney general's office investigative unit, told reporters.

"This is a very important victory, because it represents the most overwhelming blow against drug trafficking and money laundering," Ortega said.

Officials at the British Embassy in Colombia said they had no information about the case.

Authorities arrested 14 alleged members of the ring -- 10 in England, two in Colombia and two in Ecuador, Ortega said. They also seized cocaine and marijuana allegedly belonging to the ring in Colombia.

The ring allegedly sent drugs from Colombia to Europe via countries such as Ecuador and Mexico. Ortega declined to identify the drug cartel most affected by the blow, since authorities plan to continue making arrests in other European countries, he said.

The Colombian navy and the attorney general's office worked with British customs officials and Britain's National Crime Brigade to gather intelligence over the last six months, Ortega said.