US woman and 2 Ticos arrested at hydroponic marijuana operation

A 56-year-old U.S. woman and two Costa Ricans were arrested during a raid of a hydroponic marijuana laboratory in Coyol, Alajuela, the Public Security Ministry reported on Monday.

Public Security Vice Minister Gustavo Mata told The Tico Times the pot-growing operation, found in a home near the Catholic Church in Coyol, was in the process of being dismantled when Drug Control Police raided the premises. The Costa Rican suspects were identified with the surnames Rodríguez, 28, and Chamorro, 43. The U.S. woman surnamed Dittrich is a Costa Rican resident.

On Twitter, the ministry called the group a “narco clan”:

But police found only one dry marijuana plant and 256 grams of processed marijuana at the lab. Authorities seized about $900 in cash, along with three vehicles, including a white truck purchased in the United States without plates.

Besides cash and drugs, police reported the lab still had equipment to grow marijuana, including plant fertilizer, buckets and vacuum cleaners with marijuana residue.