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Published on Thursday,
September 16, 2021
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff The U.S. Coast Guard supported Costa Rican police forces in two of three recent anti-drug operations. According to the police report, the first case happened near Portete Port in Limón Province, when the U.S. Coast Guard were alerted about a speedboat, without an identification plate or flag of the country of origin that was crossing the Costa Rica maritime zone 44 nautical miles from the coast. The alert was answered by coast guard officers from the Limón station, who managed to intercept the boat and five men crew. All of them were Colombian nationals, identified as Romaña-Guzmán, 35; Ibarguen-Blanco, 27; Navarro-Serrano, 22; De la Rosa-Noel, 25; and Martínez-Córdoba, 30. At the initial inspection, police saw several bags containing packages. Following the guidelines in case of suspected drug trafficking, the crew was arrested and, together with the boat, taken to the coast guard station at Portete Port.  At the station, Drug Control Police officers made a more detailed inspection of the cargo. They found 50 packages of cocaine weighing approximately one kilogram each. The drug, the boat, 19 large containers (of which 12 contained fuel), cash, electronic equipment and three engines of 200 HP each were seized as part of the evidence in the case. The suspects were taken to the Limón Prosecutor's Office, where they must wait for a judge to order the pre-trial prison accused of the alleged crime of international drug trafficking. The second case happened when agents from the Judicial Investigation Organization, OIJ, alerted the Caldera Coast Guard station in Puntarenas Province about a fishing boat that was crossing the Costa Rica sea at 45 kilometers from Cabo Blanco Beach in the Nicoya Peninsula. Coast Guard officers managed to intercept the boat that was registered with the "Fanny II plate P-10581" and the crew of four Costa Rican men surnamed Mora, Rodríguez, Cubero and Pérez, the police said in its report. Because it was an investigation by the OIJ authorities, the ship and crew were towed to the Puntarenas dock. In a more detailed inspection of the boat, experts find hidden compartments. The agents found 1,362 packages of cocaine weighing approximately one kilogram each that were hidden in those secret compartments. As in the previous case, the boat and the drug were seized as part of the evidence in the case. The suspects were taken to the cells of the Prosecutor's Office of Puntarenas where they had to wait for a judge to order the pre-trial prison accused of the alleged crime of international drug trafficking. In the third case, the U.S. Coast Guard warned about the detection of a speedboat with a "JAF" license plate, that was crossing the maritime zone of the country near Dulce Gulf in Puntarenas Province. The Costa Rican coast guard responded to the alert and found the speedboat at a distance of 102 nautical miles from Matapalo Beach. The boat crew was made-up of: a Costa Rican man surnamed Zumbado-Cedeño, 34; and two Nicaraguan men surnamed McAelroy-García, 47; and Aguerre - Ruíz, 46, according to the police report. The initial inspection of the cargo revealed several bags containing suspicious packages. Following the guidelines in suspicious cases of drug trafficking, the crew was arrested and taken to the Coast Guard station in Golfito Port. Once at the port, experts reviewed the cargo, determining that it had 1,254 kilograms of marijuana. The drug, the boat, two 200 HP engines and 12 containers with 150 liters of fuel were seized as part of the evidence in the case. The suspects were taken to the cells of the Puntarenas Prosecutor's Office where they must wait for a judge to order the pre-trial prison accused of the alleged crime of international drug trafficking. A short video of the anti-drug operations was released by the Ministry of Security and can be seen on the AM Costa Rica YouTube channel. Authorities call for people to report any suspicion of drug sales or trafficking to the confidential line 800-8000-645 or 11-76, where bilingual agents can answer calls in English or Spanish. What else could the authorities do to end drug trafficking? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com             
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