A record-breaking amount of marijuana was confiscated just before the New Year in Costa Rica, which proved to be no exception to a year dominated by drug seizures and crack-downs. A total of 21,233 people were arrested for violating the Narcotics Law in Costa Rica in 2007 according to a report released by the Drug Control agency.

Costa Rica News — Record Drug Bust in Costa Rica

The seizure of about 4.6 tons of marijuana by the U.S. Coast Guard just before Christmas on Dec. 22 marked a new record for Costa Rica. An old ship toting the valuable cargo was found off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica near Panama on its way from Colombia with an estimated $106 million in marijuana. Nobody was arrested in this incident as the crew abandoned the ship and could not be found. The drugs are now awaiting destruction by police officials in Heredia.

In a second drug bust just before the end of the year, about 15,000 marijuana plants were uprooted in Talamanca, on the southern Caribbean coast. These plants are destined to meet a similar end.

The year end totals show that about 63 people were arrested per day through 2007 for drug related activity. The majority of these were small offenses with less than 400 people being arrested for actually dealing drugs. This number includes 94 foreigners.

Authorities from the Drug Control agency noted that a large number of tips came in from outside the agency to help bring the drug dealers to justice.

Photo courtesy of Ibabuzz.com

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Filed under: Costa Rica News on January 2nd, 2008