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Published Tuesday, December 15, 2020
Drug trafficking suspects arrested
by U.S. Coast Guard will serve
pre-trial prison
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
At the request of the Prosecutor's Office, in Siquirres Canton in Limón Province, three men detained by U.S. Coast Guard officers on Saturday will serve six months in pre-trial prison as suspects of international drug trafficking.
According to the Ministry of Security, the case began on Saturday when U.S. Coast Guard officers were patrolling the waters of the Caribbean Sea and spotted a gray speedboat with two 150-horsepower engines crossing at seven nautical miles off the coast of Parismina Beach.
The U.S. officers intercepted the speedboat and found suspicious cargo. The crew made up of two Colombian men surnamed González-Bobadilla, Levenson-Henri and a Honduran man surnamed Posada-Rodríguez were detained.
The U.S. Coast Guard handed over the suspects, the boat and the seized cargo to officers of the Costa Rican Drug Control Police at Portete Port in Limón Province.
After a more detailed inspection of the shipment, the police determined that it was 234 packages of cocaine, weighing approximately one kilogram each.
The drug and several containers with gasoline were seized by the police as part of the evidence against the suspects.
This was the second crew detained by the U.S. Coast Guard officers over the weekend.
The second case also happened on Saturday when the National Aeronaval Service of Panama detected and chased a fast boat crossing the Caribbean Sea.
With the support of the U.S. Coast Guard, the boat was intercepted 8 nautical miles from Westfalia Beach in Limón. It was a blue-gray speedboat with three 300 horsepower engines, no name, no license plate, no flag.
The U.S. officers coordinated with the Costa Rican Coast Guard to detain the crew of five men, all of Colombian nationality, surnamed Toro-Upegui, Serrano-Silgade, Santize-Delgado, Padilla-Moreno, and Pineda-Hernández.
The suspects and boat were transported to the Portete Port, where officers from the Drug Control Police inspected the shipment, which consisted of 2,557 cocaine packages weighing approximately one kilogram each.
In addition to the drugs, cash and the boat were seized as part of the evidence against the suspects.
On Monday, a judge ordered six months of pre-trial prison against the five foreign-born men as suspects of international drug trafficking.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Security, this year 48,101 kilograms of cocaine and 12,483 kilograms of marijuana have been seized. This is a result of the Joint Patrol Agreement between Costa Rica and the United States.
The judicial agents ask for people to report any suspicion of drug sales, transportation or money laundering to the confidential line 800-8000-645, where there are bilingual agents who can answer calls in English or Spanish.
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What else could the U.S. and Costa Rica governments do in the fight against drug trafficking in the country? We
would like to know your thoughts on this story.
Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com
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