'Largest' marijuana seizure ever in Argentina: officials

Drugs are sent on to Chile or Brazil or Africa for eventual sale in Europe

Buenos Aires

: Twelve tons of marijuana being smuggled from Paraguay into Argentina aboard a tanker truck were seized on Saturday in an affluent suburb of Buenos Aires, officials said.

The driver, a Paraguayan national, was held for questioning.

Daniel Scioli, the governor of Buenos Aires province, called it the "largest seizure in the history" of his country.

Scioli will face a conservative rival, Mauricio Macri, in a run-off for the Argentine presidency on November 22. The police operation on Saturday took place in San Isidro, a northern suburb of the Argentine capital and one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the region.

Police had seized a total of 15 tons of Paraguayan marijuana in three operations in northeastern Argentina in September and early October. Investigators say they believe the drug was being taken to the outskirts of Buenos Aires.

Marijuana from Paraguay and cocaine produced in mountainous regions of Colombia, Peru and Bolivia is brought to Argentina for local consumption, but the country also serves as a transit point.

The drugs are often sent on to Chile or Brazil, or in some cases to Africa for eventual sale in Europe.