Police captured 37 members of a criminal and drug-trafficking ring Friday in northwestern Colombia, authorities said.

The arrested were members of the "Envigado's Office," which sent drugs to the United States via Panama, said Luis Martinez, police commander in the northwestern province of Antioquia.

"They are responsible for 70 percent of the crimes in the region. The gang has concealed firearms in northeastern and southwestern Antioquia," Martinez said.

He added that two people acting as coordinators of drug trafficking to the United States were among the detainees, who were arrested during a joint operation by police and the Prosecutor's Office in Medellin, capital of Antioquia, and nearby localities.

(Xinhua News Agency October 11, 2008)