Colombian police apprehended at least 740 gang members involved in drug trafficking in the first 100 days of this year, a police statement said Tuesday, Xinhua reported.
Most of the arrests were made in the northwestern Antioquia province, the northern Cordoba province and the northwestern region, known as Uraba.
Among those arrested, 378 were linked with the Urabenos cartel, 246 with the paramilitary group "Los Rastrojos" and 69 with the drug gang "Los Paisas."
According to Non-Governmental Organizations, these three groups have posed a major security threat to Colombia as their activities in many cities have increased violence and homicide rates.
During the nationwide anti-drug operations, police have seized more than 81 tons of narcotic drugs and destroyed 208 drug processing laboratories, the statement said.
Colombia has so far extradited 54 criminals wanted by foreign countries this year, while another 53 have been arrested and are awaiting extradition to the United States or European Union countries.