Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) - Bolivian authorities have arrested the head of the government agency that commercializes coca, alleging he diverted to relatives 35,000 tons of leaves that were supposed to have been destroyed.
Prosecutors say Luis Cutipa is accused of influence peddling, negligence and other crimes.
His job is to regulate the transport and sale of legal coca and seize leaves that exceed legally permitted production quotas. It is not clear what happened to coca leaf that was allegedly diverted. Coca is the basis of cocaine.
A political ally of President Evo Morales, Cutipa is also accused of doubling the price of licenses for coca vendors.
He declared his innocence after his arrest Tuesday.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
