Bolivians Toss $1M From Low-Flying Plane

Kind of a risky way to pay people, isn't it? Alleged drug dealers ran into trouble last weekend by throwing more than $1 million from a low-flying plane in Bolivia, the BBC reports. Police saw the whole thing, arrested three Bolivian nationals on the ground, and grabbed the bag packed with US dollars. Interior Minister Carlos Romero said the money would have funded a new cocaine production center or money-laundering business, reports the Latin Times.

Those in the plane got away scot-free, but Romero called the seizure a "major blow" to Bolivian drug traffickers. The country remains one of the world's top three cocaine producers, behind only Peru and Colombia, as Bolivia's drug gangs exploit a growing market in neighboring Brazil. But the trafficking has drawn attention: Just last week Bolivian police shot down a plane and confiscated 690 pounds of cocaine being sent off to Brazil, reports the Latin American Herald Tribune. (More Bolivia stories.)