Three Colombians detained in Costa Rica with 1.4 metric tons of cocaine

Costa Rican authorities intercepted a boat with 1,410 kilos of cocaine on Monday and arrested three Colombians who were on board, the government of the Central American country reported.

The boat was stopped in the Costa Rican South Pacific by the local Coast Guard service after it received an alert from the Colombian National Navy, the Costa Rican Public Security Ministry (MSP) said in a statement.

The three Colombians arrested were identified with the surnames of Oliveros, 38, Vallecilla, 43, and Quiñones, 29. The three face possible charges for international drug trafficking.

According to MSP, the intercepted ship was taken to the port town of Quepos, Puntarenas, in the Central Pacific, where the boat was subjected to an inspection.

The statement said that the review allowed authorities to detect 47 containers, each of which carried 30 packages of one kilo each of cocaine.

The Pacific coast is one of the most used to move drugs from South America to the United States, the main consumer market.