What Do 2.5 Tons of Cocaine Look Like? Ask the Costa Rican Coast Guard!

Costa Rica’s geographical location between Colombia and the United States has earned it the unsavory position of being a stop-over for drugs on their way north. This unwanted role has not been taken lightly by Costa Rican authorities, who struggle each day to impede all drug trade passing through Costa Rica. In the latest of such events, on July 9, anti-drug authorities seized 2,520 kilos (5,556 pounds, or 2.8 tons) of cocaine off of the country’s Pacific coast.

Moving through the waters around the islas Negritos, in Puntarenas, the first find occurred at 5 a.m., during a routine police sweep of that area. The National Coastguard Service patrol boat caught sight of a floating boat, with three motors and a fiberglass body. Nearby, they found several bags of cocaine floating in the water. The boat was carrying supplies that included ten backup tanks of gasoline. Almost 8 hours later, around 1 p.m., authorities located another boat, this one named Adriana, flying a Costa Rica flag. Just minutes later, police found several more bags of cocaine floating in the water. No one was found in either boat.

Between the two cocaine finds, police began planning a drug bust operation, conducted both by land and sea, hoping to find those responsible for the cocaine. “We have to emphasize that this is another operation executed by Costa Rican authorities, without help from the United States,” Minister of Public Safety, Janina del Vecchio, said. Del Vecchio also indicated that, while there had been no arrests as of last night, several suspects would be interrogated during the next hours.

Concentrated more on national security, the Vice Minister of the Presidency, José Torres, said that drug traffickers are no longer transporting drugs by sea. “Now they come into areas closer to the coast to get them into the country, and then out to other nations by trucks or contracting drug mules,” Torres noted. The Vice Minister also noted that police patrols will continue their search today, since it is very possible that there are more cocaine bags floating around at sea.

Unfortunately, drug transportation is not an uncommon occurrence on Costa Rica Land and surrounding marine zones. The Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ), though woefully underfunded, has done a good job at running drugs busts over the years. With the help of Costa Rica President Oscar Arias, who has been particularly helpful in reducing Costa Rica’s role in international drug trade, the OIJ has become increasingly effective. In 2007, just 14 months into his administration, more than 50 tons of cocaine were seized. Comparatively, in 2003, less than one ton was captured. Indeed, Costa Rican drug busts are becoming more spectacular and larger in size, as evideced by 2005’s 10-ton cocaine bust, the largest bust in the country’s history.

Indeed, for a country with no army, Costa Rica is an active and strong force in the world’s war on drugs. Strong anti-drug policies, a vigilant Coast Guard, and innovative ideas have helped the Costa Rica government to seized hundreds of tons of cocaine, crack, and other harmful substances, doing its part to crack down on international law offenders.

Photo courtesy of La Nacion.

This post's rating:

Related Stories

Filed under: Costa Rica News on July 10th, 2008