Costa Rican authorities have seized 898 kilograms of cocaine in a container destined for the port of Antwerp, Belgium. The drugs were hidden among a shipment of bananas.
The seizure was made possible thanks to Operation Sovereignty, a new initiative by the Costa Rican government to combat drug trafficking. As part of the operation, scanners have been installed at the port of Moín, and police forces are now in charge of 100% of the security posts at the terminal.
The suspicious container was detected during analysis and profiling by Drug Control Police (PCD) investigators. The officers carried out an inspection and located the drug shipment among the boxes with the fruit. A total of 898 packages of cocaine, each weighing approximately one kilogram, were impounded.
The seizure is a major blow to drug trafficking organizations operating in Costa Rica. It also shows that the government’s new anti-drug measures are having an impact.
Minister of Public Security Mario Zamora Cordero said that the seizure was “a great success for Operation Sovereignty.” He added that the operation is “a clear message to drug traffickers that Costa Rica will not tolerate their criminal activities.”
Zamora also highlighted that there was another seizure of 420 kilograms of cocaine in a light aircraft in Upala, and the anti-drug operation of the Drug Control Police (PCD) dismantled a high-level organization dedicated to local and international drug trafficking and money laundering. He also said that a group of drug-trafficking leaders was arrested in Puntarenas.
“With the activation of one of these scanners, we managed to detect 898 kilos of cocaine in a container of bananas that was going to be sent to Belgium. We managed to prevent this drug from reaching consumers and affecting health and safeguarded the good name of our exports,” said Zamora.
The Drug Control Police (PCD), the Directorate of Intelligence and Criminal Analysis (DIAC), the National Coast Guard Service, the Border Police, the Air Surveillance Service (SVA), and the Public Force are continuously working on Operation Sovereignty.
The operation is part of a broader effort by the Costa Rican government to combat drug trafficking. In recent years, Costa Rica has become a major transit point for cocaine shipments from South America to Europe. The government has taken a number of steps to crack down on drug trafficking, including increasing security at the country’s ports and airports, and working with international law enforcement agencies.
The seizure of 898 kilograms of cocaine is a significant victory in the fight against drug trafficking in Costa Rica. It shows that the government’s new anti-drug measures are having an impact, and it sends a strong message to drug traffickers that Costa Rica will not tolerate their criminal activities.
