By
the A.M. Costa Rica
staff
The United States Coast Guard
and the Colombian Navy helped
the Limón Coast Guard and the
border police intercept and
capture the crew of a speedboat
transporting cocaine and
marijuana near the Limón coast*.
An unregistered speedboat named
‘The Blessing,’ said the police
report, carrying a crew of three
“was intercepted at 6:20 am on
Saturday. The speedboat was 27
nautical miles, approximately 50
kilometers, from the coast of
Limón."
The police detained three crew
of Colombian nationality
surnamed Hernández, Avendaño,
and Brown.
The police also confiscated the
boat and the drug shipment of
"600 packages with cocaine
weighing approximately one
kilogram each, in addition to 28
packages with marijuana weighing
approximately 500 grams each."
Agents of the Judicial
Investigation Organization
transferred the three suspects
to cells of the Public Ministry,
where they will continue with
the process of the investigation
by interviewing the suspects in
order to collect more evidence
for the case. The suspects must
now wait for a judge to dictate
the pre-trial measures against
them.
This is the third time this
month that the U.S. Coast Guard
has helped in the capture of
drug suspects
As A.M. Costa Rica reported on
March 6, an alert was sent from
a U.S. ship to the national
authorities regarding a
speedboat near the coast of Golfito*
and the border with Panama.
Police report that when the
coastguard responded and
approached the boat for a
routine review, the suspects
fled at high speed. "The
coastguard followed for a
distance of 182 kilometers, from
the coast in Golfito*,
near the maritime border with
Panama, to Escondida
Beach in Quepos in Puntarenas*."
That required the cooperation of
two boats and a maritime patrol
plane. When the speedboat was
being hit by the coastguard, the
suspects threw 48 bags and
several small packages into the
sea in order to distract the
police and escape.
The packages were found to
contain 1,461 kilograms of
cocaine. Also confiscated were
1,440,000 Colombian pesos (about
$464), 14 fuel cannons, seven
full and seven empty, plus two
250 hp boat engines.
When the speedboat reached the
shore of Escondida Beach, the
police detained the crew of
three men, all of the Colombian
nationality, surnamed Castillo,
Coarse, and Rentería. The
speedboat, which had no
identification or registration,
was confiscated.
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National
Coast Guard
courtesy photo
The
police detained
three crew of
Colombian
nationality and
confiscated 600
packages with
cocaine and 28
packages with
marijuana.
The three suspects
were sentenced to
six months pre-trial
jail as a
precautionary
measure.
On March 1st, the
U.S. Coast Guard
alerted the National
Coast Guard Service
about a speedboat
that was traveling
near Cape
Mata Palo*
neat to Osa. When
the officers
detected the
speedboat, it was 68
kilometers from the
coast near Cape Mata
Palo.
The crew, realizing
they were going to
be detained, threw
49 packages into the
ocean and tried to
escape. The packages
were collected and
reviewed by the
agents of the Drug
Control Police, who
confirmed they
contained 1,230
kilograms of
cocaine.
The drug was
distributed in 1,200
rectangular
packages, each one
of a kilogram of
cocaine, plus 60
packages of the
shape of a shoe
sole, each with a
weight of 500 grams
of the drug.
The police could not
capture the
speedboat crew but
they toke the
cocaine to the
Public Ministry
where it will be
stored until its
destruction can be
authorized.
---------------
Is
the main problem of
drug trafficking
generated by
countries where
there are more drug
users?
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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