Tico Arrested in Peru On Drug Charges

A 21-year-old singer from Costa Rica is in prison in Peru after being arrested on drug trafficking charges in late January.

Wagner Ruíz, who is from the southern Pacific port city of Golfito and was on his way to Madrid, Spain, allegedly carried more than 800 grams of cocaine in 107 packages in his stomach, and in Peru asked to be taken to the hospital because he did not feel well and feared that he had been poisoned, the daily La Nación reported. It was not until Feb. 4 that the Costa Rican consul in Peru was informed of the Tico’s arrest, the daily said.

Ruíz was transferred to a prison 15 kilometers from Lima, Peru, that nation’s capital.

According to the daily, another Costa Rican has been awaiting trial in Peru for two years for allegedly attempting to traffic drugs through that country. Javier Vindas, 59, was arrested Feb. 22, 2004, and is accused of entering Peru with a suitcase containing six kilograms of cocaine.