A Colombian anti-drugs policeman stands guard in front of workers while they eradicate coca leaf plantations as part of a government counter narcotics program in El Penol southern Narino province, August 14, 2007. (REUTERS/Jose Miguel Gomez)
QUITO, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- An official with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on Thursday declared that Ecuador is free of illegal cultivation, with no evidence that coca, poppy or marijuana plants being sowed in the country last year.
The announcement was made by Lorenzo Vallejos, the coordinator of UNODC who is responsible for monitoring illicit crops program.
According to the UNODC official, Ecuador has eradicated 752,004 coca plants and 6.7 million poppy plants in the last ten years, thanks to the concerted efforts of UNODC, Ecuador's Ministry of the Interior and of the Ecuadorian army since 2004.
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