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Tuesday, May 26, 2020 police alerted on drug traffic in Limón On Saturday, a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter detected a suspicious boat that was crossing the sea near Manzanillo Beach in Limón Province, proceeding to notify the Panamanian authorities to issue a joint alert to the Costa Rican Ministry of Security. According to the ministry, the alert was received at 10 p.m. Saturday night, when the U.S. authorities and Panamanian coast guards "detected a suspicious boat that apparently was carrying a drug cargo." The boat was detected arriving at the coast when, allegedly, several people were removing packages being transported from the vessel. Responding to the alert, the police arrived at the indicated place where they found the boat, and 22 large bags had been dumped nearby. In each of these bags there were 25 packages of drugs, the ministry reported. In this case alone, authorities seized 550 drug packages. No suspects and no detainees were reported. In the second case of drug seizure over the weekend, the National Coast Guard received an alert from a boat that crossed the Cahuita Beach waters also at Limón Province for breaking the sanitary restriction due to the covid-19 crisis. According to the ministry, the coastguards responded to the alert and went to investigate. When officers reached the boat and asked the crew to stop to proceed with the search, they resisted the stop order. The ministry said: "an intense chase began offshore including several shots were fired" where one of the crew members was killed. The detained members of the boat crew were taken to the dock where Red Cross paramedics "declared the man dead," said the ministry. The crew was made up of two Colombians, one Honduran and one Costa Rican, according to the police report. The four men were taken to the cells of the Public Ministry where they were interrogated by the judicial agents and now must wait until a judge orders the pre-trial measures against them. In addition, the police seized 22 large bags that contained 534 packages with cocaine and 12 extra-large fuel containers. In total, on Saturday more than a ton of cocaine was seized. This is the fourth drug seizure done with the cooperation of the United States Coast Guard in two months.  On May 2, the U.S. Coast Guard assisted its Costa Rican counterparts in the pursuit of a fast boat and the seizure of cocaine cargo. As part of the joint patrol agreement between the United States and Costa Rica, the U.S. Coast Guard detected a speedboat that was crossing near Quepos Beach Port in Puntarenas Province, said the Ministry of Security. The U.S. and Costa Rican coast guards proceeded with the pursuit of the speedboat, however, "the crew, upon noticing the police presence, threw several packages into the sea and fled,” said the ministry. "These packages were collected by the Costa Rican Coast Guard," the ministry said. They managed to recover 15 black floating packages. Each floating package had a shipment of 433 packages weighing approximately one kilogram of cocaine each. According to the police report, the shipment was seized and delivered to the Drug Control Police as part of the evidence in the case. However, the crew managed to escape, so no arrests were made for suspects, the ministry reported.  On April 12, U.S. Coast Guards detected a boat named Doña Marina donned with a Costa Rican flag near to the Pacific Ocean at 97 nautical miles from Mata Palo Beach in Puntarenas Province. In a routine inspection, U.S. Coast Guards detected an apparent load of marijuana inside the boat, so they proceeded with the arrest of the four crew members. Upon the arrival of the Costa Rican Coast Guards, the U.S. authorities handed over the detainees and boat, said the ministry in its report. Drug Control Police officers proceeded with the inspection of the ship cargo of 23 packages of marijuana, approximately one kilogram each. The police reported the suspects surnamed Umaña-Villegas, 32, with a criminal record background, Carmona-Marchena, 54, Morales-Rosales, 38, and Murillo-Pérez, 24. The last three without criminal records. The Drug Control Police seized the boat and marijuana as part of the evidence of the case. The four suspects were taken to the cells of the Public Ministry where they were interrogated by the judicial agents and a judge ordered three months of pre-trial prison against them.  A similar case happened on April 7, when the U.S. Coast Guards detained four Costa Ricans for the alleged crime of shipping cocaine cargo. The U.S. Coast Guard officials intercepted the Costa Rican registered boat named Amanda at 87 nautical miles west of Golfito Port in Puntarenas Province, reported the authorities. After proceeding with the ship's interception, U.S. officials found 771 packages of cocaine hidden inside the ship, each pack weighing approximately one kilogram. U.S. Coast Guards informed the Costa Rican authorities to coordinate the process of transferring the drugs and the detained suspects. According to the police report, only one of the four detained had a criminal record, surnamed Walsh-Marroquin, 40. He was previously arrested for crimes also related to drugs. The remaining apprehended had not been previously arrested: a man surnamed Castillo-Gamboa, 29, a man surnamed Calvo-Gómez, 22, and a man surnamed Chavarría-Mendoza, 65. The Costa Rican Coast Guards and the Drug Control Police sailed 27 nautical miles off the coast of Puntarenas to receive the four suspects and the intercepted boat. The Costa Rican authorities proceeded with the seizure of the drugs and the transfer of the suspects to the cells in the Public Ministry. A Puntarenas criminal court judge ordered four months of pre-trial prison time for them. --------------------- Should U.S. Coast Guards increase its presence in Latin American countries' territorial seas to help 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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