The Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) detained 34 people on the morning of Tuesday, July 21, in an operation against what investigators describe as one of the country’s principal networks for moving drugs into its prisons. Among those detained was the head of the Penitentiary Police at the La Leticia prison in Guápiles, in the Caribbean canton of Pococí.
The operation, which the OIJ named Caso Dalila, followed roughly two years of investigation led by the agency’s regional office in Siquirres together with the local prosecutor’s office. Agents carried out 37 raids across the pre-dawn and morning hours at private homes and five penitentiaries, capturing 34 of 41 planned targets, according to interim OIJ director Michael Soto. Investigators say the structure operated both inside and outside the prison system and dealt in national drug trafficking, contract killings, cigarette smuggling and the introduction of narcotics and cell phones into detention centers.
The detention of the La Leticia penitentiary police chief occurred during a search of his workspace, where agents reported finding a cell phone. Soto said investigators have not yet established whether the official was connected to the organization and that the matter remains under review. No charges have been filed against him or any of the other people detained.
Authorities have linked the organization to at least three homicides in the area of Siquirres. The operation’s name refers to the biblical Delilah: according to the OIJ, one victim was lured with the promise of meeting two women before being killed. Soto identified a woman of about 40 as holding a leadership role within the structure and coordinating its contract-killing activity. She was detained alongside one of her sons, while her partner and two other sons had been detained previously in connection with related matters, the OIJ said.
According to the investigation, the network recruited women in vulnerable circumstances to carry drugs into prisons concealed on their bodies, paying them around ₡300,000 (about $665) per successful delivery. A single load — described by the OIJ as a cylinder holding roughly 250 grams (8.8 ounces) of cocaine or marijuana — could be worth close to ₡5 million (about $11,000) once inside the prison walls. Soto said the group also paid up to ₡700,000 (about $1,550) for killings.
The five penitentiaries entered during the operation were La Leticia, Sandoval, San Sebastián, Liberia and La Reforma, where investigators examined the cases of inmates identified as suspected members of the organization. Roughly 150 Penitentiary Police officers provided tactical support during the raids, which extended across Siquirres, Guácimo, the Southern Zone and several communities in Guanacaste. Agents seized three firearms and a quantity of drugs prepared for distribution.
The OIJ said the investigation began in September 2024. The people detained now enter the judicial process, in which a prosecutor must formally present the case and a judge will decide on any precautionary measures.
