Police seized 3,450 doses of the illegal drug Ecstasy last week and detained two Colombian men at a vehicle checkpoint near Rio Claro, in the Southern Zone, a police statement announced.
According to the Drug Control Police, who participated in the operation, this doubles the largest haul of a synthetic drug ever seized on Costa Rican soil. Authorities said the Ecstasy was intended for distribution in Costa Rica.
Police found the drug hidden in a secret compartment in the rear bumper of the car after conducting an inspection of the vehicle May 9.
Synthetic drugs such as Ecstasy are relatively new to Costa Rica. Drug Control Police registered the first seizure of such drugs in February 2001, when officials arrested eight individuals at the Velvet Zone disco in the western San José neighborhood of Rohmoser and seized 456 doses of Ecstasy and 308 hits of LSD. In 2004, police seized 1,633 doses of Ecstasy, the largest quantity until now.
Ecstasy was made popular in the United States and Europe in electronic dance parties called raves, but was originally developed as a pharmaceutical and used by therapists. Many scientists still insist Ecstasy has therapeutic value.
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