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Photo via OIJ.




Costa Rica deports a U.S. citizen wanted in the U.S. on fentanyl trafficking case



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Published on Thursday, November 14, 2024
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff




The International Police (Interpol) and the Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ) agents successfully deported a U.S. citizen male surnamed Hank (32) to the United States.



According to the OIJ, Hank Red Notice was issued by the U.S. as a suspect of trafficking at least 400 grams of fentanyl from Mexico to the United States.



The judicial agents arrested him in March 2024,  while he was ready to flee the county at the Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) in Alajuela Province.



The U.S. citizen was taken in custody at the Immigration Apprehension Center in San José until his extradition to the United States was finalized on Wednesday.





 



Hank is only one of many cases in which foreigners have been arrested in Costa Rica after being issued with an international arrest warrant. Recently, a Nicaraguan male surnamed Herrera (49) was extradited to the United States. He was on the run for ten years as suspected of being a part of a Nicaraguan drug trafficking group that operates in the U.S.



In August, Interpol arrested a Canadian citizen surnamed Liam (28) as a suspect in a misappropriation case.



As of April, Costa Rica has deported 350 foreign people, according to statistics from the General Directorate of Migration.



Last year closed with almost 1,000 foreigners deported. This figure is a 47% increase over the 664 individuals deported in 2022.



The United States and Costa Rica established an extradition treaty in 1982 and ratified by the Costa Rican Congress in 1991. The agreement's goal is to provide more effective cooperation between the two States in the repression of crime; and the reciprocal extradition of fugitives from justice.



The Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ), a division of the Supreme Court of Justice, conducts criminal investigations.  Officers in the operational unit have the authority to use police power across the country, including the authority to arrest. 


 

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What have you heard about expats being deported from Costa Rica to the U.S.? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com



  


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