Security forces in Venezuela have found $550,000 buried near the border with Colombia, interior ministry spokesman Jorge Galindo said, according to BBC News.

The money was stashed in plastic bags on the shores of river Meta along with a rifle and 1kg (2.2lb) of cocaine. Officials have not yet said how the National Guard came across the money.

Venezuela has arrested several Colombian drug dealers. Colombian guerrilla groups and drug traffickers often bury cash in remote locations.

Galindo said the money - in $100 bills - had been stashed into six plastic bags and buried in a rural part of western Apure state.

In 2003, Colombian soldiers found about $20m worth of guerrilla drug money buried in the Colombian jungle. The soldiers, who failed to tell the authorities about their find, were charged with theft. They are still awaiting a verdict.