PANAMA CITY, Panama (Reuters) -- Police in Panama arrested two men
                 after finding a cache of high-powered assault rifles, grenade launchers and
                 plastic explosives in the back of a Panama City taxi, police said on Tuesday.

                 The weapons, including five AK-47 assault rifles, three rocket-propelled grenade
                 launchers and 100 packs of Russian-made C4 plastic explosive, were found
                 wrapped in newspaper in the back of a taxi pick-up truck in Panama City's Vista
                 Hermosa district.

                 National Police director Carlos Bares told Reuters a Colombian national and a
                 Panamanian taxi driver were arrested in the operation. The arms were "from Central
                 America and destined for Colombia," he added.

                 In recent years Panama has become a key transit point in the illegal trade in
                 weapons left over from civil wars waged in neighboring Nicaragua and El Salvador
                 during the 1980s. The weapons are frequently sold to Colombian insurgent groups
                 for drugs and cash.

                 Last year, Panama's police seized enough weapons to arm an infantr y battalion,
                 including more than 800 pistols and assault rifles, together with 130,000 rounds of
                 ammunition, and more than 3,000 pounds (1,400 kgs) of explosives.

                    Copyright 2001 Reuters.