7 Kilos of Cocaine Seized On Bus at Panama Border

EFE February 29, 2008

Costa Rica’s Drug Control Police seized seven kilograms of cocaine Saturday that was hidden in the bathroom of a bus originating in Panama.

The bus belongs to the Costa Rican-run company, Ticabús, and was on its way to San José with 45 passengers of different nationalities when it was detained and inspected on the border between Costa Rica and Panama.

Officers found the drugs hidden in the bathroom, in a plastic bag where the toilet paper is kept, said a police official.

The authorities detained the bus to look for fingerprints and other evidence. Passengers spent more than seven hours on the border at Paso Canoas before the bus was finally authorized to continue to San José.

The bus driver, Gerardo Blanco, told authorities he did not know who had put the cocaine in the bathroom, saying it could be any passenger because the bus left Friday night from Panama.

None of the passengers or the driver was detained in the case.