Surprised with a relatively large number of caskets ordered early Monday morning, Colombian police were able to discover the murders of eight cocaine laboratory workers in a province notorious for cocaine production.

"We did not find out about this until relatives of the victims showed up at a funeral home asking for eight caskets," Putumayo province police commander Harold Lara said. "That drew our attention."

Putumayo which is near Ecuador, is a key cocaine production area where leftist rebels and a mosaic of drug gangs fight over lucrative smuggling routes.

Lara said the gunshot murders in the town of Puerto Asis may probably be part of a robbery in which one trafficking group stole coca base, used to make cocaine, from another

"It was Monday morning and they had been in production all weekend. So there was a lot of base there to be taken," the police commander said.