Lima, August 27 (teleSUR-RHC)-- The elite police of Peru conducted a mega operation on Wednesday in which they raided pits where drug traffickers produce cocaine and also seized chemicals used in the refining of the narcotic, authorities said, according to the U.S. news agency the Associated Press.

The operation was conducted in the dense central jungles of the country, where traffickers grow coca leaves which is the main ingredient used to produce cocaine.

The camouflage-clad agents also detonated explosives to blow holes in the clandestine airstrips used by aircrafts to retrieve loads of drug. Peru is currently the world's leading producer of cocaine.

Authorities also said the landing strips and wells are guarded by the Shining Path guerrilla group, who work for drug traffickers and keep people as slaves, forcing them to work in coca plantations. 

Last week, the Peruvian congress unanimously approved a law that allows the country’s air force to shoot aircraft suspected of carrying illegal drugs.

The measure is part of President Ollanta Humala's campaign to crack down on drugs by ramping up eradication of coca plants. 

On Tuesday, authorities seized at least 3.3 tons of cocaine that were bound for Belgium and Spain. Officials said this is the largest seizure this year.

The country's anti-drug branch recently reported that 95 percent of the cocaine transported by plane from Peru has a Bolivian destination.