Pablo Escobar: Home that belonged to 'The King of Cocaine' demolished in Colombia

An infamous building that was once home to drug trafficker Pablo Escobar has been demolished in Colombia.

Some 180 detonators were used to destroy the "Monaco" building - and the explosion sent a cloud of dust 10m (33ft) into the air.

It will be replaced by a park honouring the thousands of people killed by Escobar's entourage in the 1980s and 1990s - including four presidential candidates and approximately 500 police officers.

Escobar died aged 44 when he was shot by police 25 years ago.

Often called "The King of Cocaine", Escobar was one of the wealthiest criminals in history.

The drug lord's cartel supplied an estimated 80% of the cocaine smuggled into the US at the height of his career - making $21.9bn (£17.2bn) a year.

Forbes listed him as the world's seventh-richest man in 1989 with an estimated net worth of $9bn (£7bn).

He donated 443 houses to formerly homeless people, and among locals, he was referred to as the "Colombian Robin Hood".

Escobar's eight-storey mansion had fallen into disrepair following his death.

The derelict property bore the scars of Colombia's first car bombing in 1988 - which marked the beginning of a bloody war between the country's rival cartels.

The park will cost an estimated $2.5m (£1.9m), while renovating and reinforcing the crumbling mansion would have cost $11m (£8.6m), according to the city.

The decision to destroy the building is divisive.

Local resident Daniel Tobon Herrera believes the building should not have been demolished, arguing it could have brought tourists to the area, saying: "There are many opportunities here in the city for sustainable tourism… [that] does not necessarily take on an uncomfortable position for Colombians and residents of Medellin."

Whereas Gloria Maria, another local, said: "This is the best decision they could have taken".

She argued the costs of restoring it were too high and the building represented "bad memories".