Bogota, Jun 6 (IANS): The Colombian Navy has seized more than 2.6 tonnes of cocaine that was being shipped by a barge to Central America.

The drugs, confiscated in Pacific waters, were believed to belong to the country's largest leftist insurgent group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

US naval vessels provided assistance in the operation after detecting the drug-laden barge off the coast of Colombia's Choco Department and notifying their Colombian counterparts, Xinhua quoted a statement from the navy as saying.

The barge's four-member crew "threw the packages of cocaine overboard" after realizing they had been spotted, according to the statement, but US. and Colombian naval vessels "recovered the 130 packages containing 2.6 tonnes of cocaine."

Authorities said they suspected the haul valued at some $67 million belonged to the FARC's 30th Front, which is active in southwest Colombia.

The barge and its crew were taken to the port of Buenaventura, in the department of Valle del Cauca.

"The shipment was apparently headed to Central America, from where it would be later taken to the United States" for sale and distribution, said the statement.