MEXICO, September 11 (RIA Novosti) - Colombian customs officers have detained in the port of Buonaventura a container from Mexico with about $23 million hidden in cargo, Mexican television reported.

"The money was hidden in sacks with ammonium nitrate shipped to a Colombian firm which manufactures laundry products," Nestor Dias, the head of the Customs Service, said in a TV news report.

He said the money was sent by a drug cartel as payment for a previous narcotics shipment, and the customs officers acted on a tip from Colombian security agencies.

He also said the confiscated stash was handed over to Colombia's National Bank and will be used to build 320 apartments for poor people.

Colombia is the world's largest cocaine supplier with at least 600 metric tons (1.3 million lbs) of the drug produced annually, most of which finds its way to the U.S. and European markets.