By the A.M.
Costa Rica staff
The Prosecutor's Office of Grecia in
Alajuela* confirmed that the
judge of the criminal court imposed
pre-trial precautionary measures
against a married couple named
Atchison, U.S. citizens suspected of
growing hydroponic marijuana at
their home.
The couple had to surrender their
passports at the court and they are
prohibited from leaving the country.
According to the ruling, they must
keep the same address, refrain from
additional criminal behavior and
sign in at the court on a monthly
basis.
As A.M. Costa Rica reported on
Tuesday, the investigataion began on
Sunday when police officers from the
station in Grecia in
Alajuela* responded to an
emergency call about an assault at
the home of U.S. couple.
What police ultimately found was a
laboratory growing hydroponic
marijuana.
According to the police report, on
Sunday at 9:52 p.m., the officers
received an emergency call from Mrs.
Atchison about an assault at her
house located in the community of
Cajon in the province of Alajuela.
When they arrived, the woman said
that men forced their way into the
house and “stole cash and jewelry."
The officers then decided to tour
the house and make a record of the
stolen objects. At that point, they
found several pots containing
marijuana seeds inside a room.
Continuing the search they found a
kind of cellar where marijuana was
growing and approximately 30 cocoons
of "cripy" type marijuana inside
some glass jugs.
The police report says that "this
drug is genetically altered, it has
more intense effects, harmful to
health, 10 times more powerful than
the common one, in its consequences
are harmful to consumers such as
alterations in neuro-development,
loss of motivation, memory and of
cognitive abilities."
The police requested support from
the agents of the Judicial
Investigation Organization who
raided the house.
At the request of the prosecutor's
office of Grecia, the agents
arrested the Atchison's and seized
marijuana plants, cocoons, and seeds
as part of the evidence in the case
against the Atchisons. Evidence
collection is the first step in
building a case against the
Atchison's for the crime of growing
hydroponic marijuana.
Regarding the detention of U.S.
citizens who are suspected of
cultivating hydroponic marijuana in
a laboratory, and as A.M. Costa Rica
reported on February 5, a judge
sentenced two U.S. citizens
suspected of drug trafficking to six
months of pre-trial prison.
The Prosecutor's office of La Unión in Tres
Ríos* confirmed that a public
ministry judge delivered a sentence
of six months pre-trial prison for
two U.S. citizens surnamed
Owen-Strauss, male, 69 years old,
and Redondo-Ramos, female, 59 years
old, with dual Cuba/U.S.
citizenship. They are suspected of
being part of a gang dedicated to
cultivating and marketing marijuana.
The investigation reported that four
more people were arrested as part of
the gang and were also sentenced to
six-month pre-trial prison. Their
surnames are Cortés-Amador,
Bermúdez-Molina, Bastos-Herrera, and
Pizarro-Cartín.
During
that investigation, police
seized 639 grams of marijuana,
marijuana cocoons, seeds, and
318 marijuana plants during
the raids. They also
confiscated a motorcycle, a
car, a 9-millimeter pistol,
two assault rifles, and
ammunition.
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Security
Ministry courtesy
photo
Agents seized
marijuana plants,
cocoons, and seeds as
part of the evidence
in the case against
the Atchisons.
Agents
report that the
investigation of that
gang began in April
2018 when the police
received confidential
information about the
suspects who were
renting houses where
they grew hydroponic
marijuana in
controlled
environments.
Based on that complaint,
the agents conducted an
investigation that
resulted in raids that
were made simultaneously
in a warehouse in La
Unión in Tres Rios and
five houses located in
the provinces of Cartago*,
Heredia*
and San
José*.
Prosecutor's agents
said, "it is believed
that they extracted the
oil and wax from the
plants, as those
products have a higher
concentration of
tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC, the main
psychoactive component
of cannabis) compared to
chopped marijuana, then,
apparently, they sold
the derivatives in
ampoules or cartridges,
with prices ranging
between ₵60,000 ($98.52)
and ₵100,000 ($164)."
One of the Costa Rican
detainees,
Cortés-Amador, is the
son of Guiselle Amador,
who was the Minister of
Health last year.
Information provided by
the Presidential House
confirmed that President
Alvarado was informed
last year that
investigation was
starting and that it
involved Minister
Amador's son.
The investigation was
apparently the trigger
for the President to ask
the Minister to resign
in November 2018. On her
resignation, the
minister had said that
she was leaving the job
due to health reasons.
It is important to
clarify that the
Presidential House
confirms that the
sensitive information
given to the president
on this case, was never
shared to the former
Minister Amador because
the case was in its
initial stage and all
information in that
phase is confidential.
The president named Mr.
Daniel Salas as Minister
of Health to replace Ms.
Amador.
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Why do
you think foreigners
prefer to grow marijuana
in Costa Rica and not in
their own countries? If
so, what is a possible
solution? We would like
to know your thoughts on
this story. Send your
comments to: news@amcostarica.com
*Link to
reach the map.
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