Costa Rican Security Forces seized some 3.2 tons of marijuana from two narco-trawlers intercepted in Pacific Ocean waters, in operations that left seven foreigners, authorities reported Tuesday.
Two separate anti-drug operations resulted in the seizure of 3,250 kilos of marijuana and the arrest of four Nicaraguan nationals in one and three Colombians in the other, the Public Security Ministry said.
The narco-boats were sailing at high speed, without flag or name, when they were intercepted by the National Coast Guard.
The first narco-boat was captured on the southern Pacific coast, in Pavón Bay, some 300 km south of San José, and it took gunfire at the engines to immobilize it.
The second vessel was intercepted about three hours later just a few kilometers away, also in the same area.
Each boat was carrying 1,625 kilos of marijuana, said the Drug Control Police after the vessels were brought to port and the investigations were carried out.
A day earlier, another anti-drug operation on Costa Rica’s Atlantic coast resulted in the pursuit of a narco-boat in the Caribbean Sea and the seizure of a ton of cocaine. Five Colombian nationals were arrested.
In 2021, Costa Rican authorities seized 71 tons of drugs including cocaine and marijuana, according to data from the Ministry of Public Security.
In the same year, drug seizures throughout Central America amounted to 248 tons, of which some 200 tons were cocaine and the rest, the vast majority, marijuana, according to a tally made by AFP from official sources.
