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 Published Wednesday, July 1, 2020 The
U.S. Coast Guard arrests four
Costa Ricans suspected of cocaine shipping By the A.M. Costa Rica staff The
U.S. Coast Guard detained four Costa Ricans
suspected of shipping 710 packages of cocaine,
each package approximately weighing one kilogram,
reported the Ministry of Security on Tuesday.
According to the report, the U.S. Coast Guard detected and detained the men while they were crossing the Pacific Ocean in a Costa Rican registered ship named "Blue Sky" on June 20. After a routine review, the U.S. officials found the drug shipments. The four men were arrested and identified as: surnamed Alvarado-Cascante, 40; Faerron-Zúñiga, 20; Faerron-Rosales, 52; and Sandoval- Muñoz, 40. All of them with no previous criminal record. On Tuesday, the U.S. Coast Guards handed over the suspects and drugs at the dock at the Golfito Port in Puntarenas Province to Costa Rican Drug Control Police. They also delivered the cash that was seized in the bust as part of the evidence in the case. The four men were taken to the cells of the Public Ministry where they were interrogated by the judicial agents and must now wait until a judge orders the pre-trial measures against them. This is the second time this month of a drug shipment seized with the support of the U.S. Coast Guard.  On June 23, the National Coastguards reported having found several packages of marijuana floating in the Caribbean Sea off the Limón Province. According to the coastguard report, the seizure of the illicit packages happened in an operation developed by crews of the interceptor vessels GC 38-9 and GC 38-17 from the Limón station. The Coastguard operation was in response to a warning call about the imminent arrival of a suspicious Go-Fast Vessel (GFV) near the coast of Limón, coming from Jamaica. According to Commissioner Martín Arias, director of the Coast Guard, the suspicious vessel threw their drug packages into the sea and fled at high speed, leaving 110 packages floating about 38 nautical miles from the Portete Beach Coast Guard post in Limón Province. "The packages were loaded on board of the Coast Guard vessels and taken to the port in Limón, where they were delivered to the Drug Control Police, which determined that the 110 packages weighed about 260 kilograms," according to the Coastguards report. The operation was also assisted by a US P3-type aircraft that collaborated with overflights in the area to rule out the presence of more drugs or traffickers. This job is part of the Joint Patrol with the United States. There were no people arrested in this case. -------------------------- Should the U.S. Coast Guard increases their presence along the Costa Rican maritime area as part of the joint patrolling fight against drug trafficking? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com |
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