Costa Rica carried out 80 raids before dawn today against an alleged criminal organization. The group is suspected of hijacking cargo containers, siphoning hundreds of thousands of liters of fuel, selling drugs and taking part in two homicides. The operation, known as Portus, began at 4 a.m. this morning. The Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) in Limón led it, together with the Deputy Prosecutor’s Office Against Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture and the Deputy Prosecutor’s Office Against Drug Trafficking and Related Crimes.
Michael Soto, interim director of the OIJ, said 22 people had been detained in the first hours of the operation. He said further arrests were pending. The investigation began in 2024, and Soto said the case name refers to a port. The raids centered on the Limón province, including the Liverpool, MoÃn and Limón 2000 areas. They also reached Heredia, Upala, Puntarenas, Desamparados, Puriscal, Escazú, Guápiles, Siquirres and Batán. The deployment involved 1,275 judicial personnel: 1,100 OIJ agents, 85 judges and 90 prosecutors.
Soto said two of the detainees are alleged leaders of the organization. They are a man surnamed Delgado, known by the alias “Chon,” and a man surnamed Vargas, known as “Salchichón.” According to Soto, the organization is linked to 11 container robberies in Limón, Puntarenas, Liberia and San Ramón. The stolen cargo included tuna, seafood, meat and cleaning products, with an estimated value of about $1.5 million.
Investigators believe the group used the Finance Ministry’s customs information system (TICA), to pick its targets, Soto said. Members allegedly entered container numbers and the license plates of the trucks carrying them. That showed them what each shipment held and its declared customs value before they decided which loads to attack. Soto said the stolen goods were then allegedly sold back into the legitimate market.
A second line of the investigation concerns fuel theft, mainly in Alajuela and Siquirres. Soto said investigators identified five permanent illegal taps used to extract fuel. Authorities attribute about 654,000 liters (roughly 172,800 gallons) to that activity, valued at approximately â‚¡400 million, or about $875,000.
Soto said members of the structure had distinct roles. Some allegedly extracted the fuel, others sold it, and others received or placed the stolen products on the market. Karla Montero, executive president of Recope, described the groups as dangerous. She said the cost of fuel theft is ultimately passed on to fuel prices paid by every consumer.
She added that each illegal tap carries the risk of a spill that could cause a serious accident or significant environmental damage. Authorities also link the organization to two homicides in Limón. A woman named Aráuz was killed on Dec. 27, 2025, in Limón 2000, in a case Soto said appears to be connected to the fuel theft. A man surnamed Morrison was killed on Aug. 2, 2026, in Liverpool, in what Soto described as an apparent score-settling linked to drug trafficking.
The group is also under investigation for the retail sale of marijuana and cocaine in Liverpool and Limón 2000. Investigators are also looking at illicit association and money laundering. Early in the operation, two people fled through the back of a house as agents arrived. Soto said officers reported hearing a gunshot and reacted, and the suspects were detained a short distance away. He said it did not appear to be a direct confrontation and that the shot may have been fired to intimidate the officers. Two agents suffered minor injuries during the raids.
Authorities reported seizing five firearms, including an AR-15 rifle, as well as cash and high-end vehicles. Notations will be placed on two properties linked to the case. At one property, agents found a swimming pool decorated with an image of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, according to authorities.
Attorney General Carlo DÃaz said the detainees will give their statements to prosecutors, who will request preventive detention. DÃaz said the case will remain in Costa Rican courts because the structure appears to operate locally. He said there is currently no evidence of ties to international drug trafficking or terrorism that would open the door to extradition. None of those detained has been charged. The Public Ministry will determine their legal situation in the coming days.
Operation Portus is the latest in a series of large-scale OIJ operations in Limón this year. They include the Caso Riverside raids in June against a drug trafficking structure, and a July operation targeting an alleged cocaine smuggling network at the MoÃn container terminal. Recope has reported years of heavy losses from illegal fuel taps on its pipeline network.
