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Published Tuesday, January 12, 2021
DEA agents support in the arrest of
suspected drug trafficking crew
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
In a special anti-drug operation, agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, supported agents of the Directorate of Intelligence and National Security of Costa Rica, DIS, in the arrest of four suspects of transporting cocaine.
According to the Ministry of Security, DEA agents helped Costa Rican agents intercept a Costa Rican fish boat on the Pacific Coast, due to suspicion of transporting a shipment of drugs.
During a routine check, the agents found 893 packages , weighing approximately one kilo each. The drugs were found hidden at the bottom of the ship. The ship and the drug were seized by the National Coast Guard as part of the evidence in the case.
The crew, made up of four Tico men, were taken to the cells of the Public Ministry where they were interrogated by the judicial agents and after that, they must wait until a judge orders the pre-trial measures against them for suspicion of international drug trafficking.
This is the second anti-drug operation in which DEA agents have aided in the arrest of drug trafficking suspects this month.
That case started on Jan. 5, when the Costa Rican Coast Guards were alerted by DEA agents about a boat that was cruising through the waters of the Pacific Coast detected as coming from South America.
Upon responding to the tip, the Coast Guards managed to intercept the ship around midnight when it had already entered the maritime zone of Costa Rica, 30 nautical miles from Cabo Blanco Beach in Puntarenas Province. This vessel was identified as a fishing boat with Costa Rican plates that read, Happy Happy 1.
In a routine inspection, the Coast Guard detected a shipment of several sacks containing packages of cocaine. The crew, made up of three Costa Ricans, two Ecuadorians, and one Guatemalan, was arrested. And the boat and the cocaine cargo were seized as part of the evidence in the case.
In a more detailed inspection by officers of the Drug Control Police, they found 13 packages, totaling 248 packages of approximately one kilo each of cocaine.
The six men were taken to the cells of the Public Ministry on Wednesday, where a judge ordered six months of pre-trial measures against them for suspicion of international drug trafficking.
In 2020, the officers of the Drug Control Police arrested the members of 171 criminal gangs dedicated to drug trafficking, surpassing the number of 147 criminal gangs detained in 2019, according to data from the Ministry of Security.
The judicial agents of the Judicial Investigation Organization, ask for the people of Costa Rica to report any suspicion of drug sales or drug trafficking to the confidential line 800-8000-645, where bilingual agents can answer calls in the English or Spanish language.
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What else could authorities do to stop drug trafficking? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com
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