A Canadian man wanted in connection with a major drug and firearms case in British Columbia has been extradited from Costa Rica after several months in custody. Jesse Michael Valentino Bou-Saleh, 35, was sent back to Canada on Tuesday, June 9, following a request from Canada’s Department of Justice. The extradition was coordinated by the Interpol office of Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency, known as the OIJ.
Bou-Saleh was wanted by Canadian authorities in connection with drug trafficking, drug distribution, drug storage and illegal firearms offenses. The case is tied to Lake Country, British Columbia, where investigators linked him to a criminal organization accused of supplying fentanyl and other illicit drugs in Vernon and nearby communities.
Costa Rican authorities located Bou-Saleh in Tamarindo, Guanacaste, where he had been living with his partner and children. OIJ officials said he was arrested in January, setting off the extradition process that ended this week with his transfer to Canadian authorities.
The Canadian case stems from a March 2023 police operation that authorities described as one of the largest drug and gun seizures ever carried out by the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP. The raids followed a two-month investigation into a group suspected of supplying fentanyl and other illegal substances across parts of British Columbia’s Okanagan region.
During the Canadian operation, police seized more than 30 kilograms of suspected illicit drugs, including fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA and synthetic opioid pills. More than 20 kilograms were believed to be fentanyl, an amount authorities said could represent about 200,000 street-level doses.
Investigators also seized five vehicles, more than $100,000 in cash, a commercial pill press, equipment used for mixing powdered drugs, hard body armor, and evidence related to firearm manufacturing and assembly.
The firearms seizure was also significant. Police reported finding 45 firearms, including 27 assault-style rifles, 18 handguns and six shotguns. Some of the weapons were described as ghost guns, meaning homemade or privately assembled firearms without serial numbers.
Five people were arrested during the 2023 operation, but Bou-Saleh was not taken into custody at the time. Canadian authorities later pursued charges, and Costa Rican authorities eventually found him in Guanacaste. Costa Rican judicial sources said Bou-Saleh had been living in an exclusive area of Guanacaste in a home valued at about $350,000. He did not own the property but reportedly rented it for about $2,500 per month while residing there with his family.
His wife, identified in Canadian and Costa Rican reporting as Katarina Bou-Saleh, has also been under investigation. The extradition closes the Costa Rica phase of a case that drew attention because of the suspect’s presence in Tamarindo, one of the country’s best-known beach communities, and because of the scale of the allegations in Canada.
Bou-Saleh now faces Canadian judicial proceedings related to the drug and firearms case.
