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Contraband

Police arrest suspect carrying marijuana-based medicine and other pharmaceuticals at Nicaraguan border

The 12,428 tablets, pills, vials and other items the 39-year-old suspect carried included amoxicillin, tetracycline, and diclofenac, among others.

Booze bootleggers busted after bribe backfires

Cops seized 597 cases of booze, including rum, whiskey, tequila and beer, worth an estimated ₡20 million ($38,000).

Police seize more than 10,000 contraband cigarettes in San José raids

A joint operation involving officials from three government agencies on Tuesday resulted in the confiscation of 10,687 cigarettes that entered the country under irregular circumstances, confirmed the Public Security Ministry (MSP).

Finance Ministry proposes tougher sanctions to crack down on contraband smuggling

Liquor, beer and cigarettes are the three most common items that smugglers transport across the border. Fiscal Control Police last year confiscated 123,072 bottles of beer, 36,464 bottles of whisky and more than 21 million cigarettes.

Costa Rican cops confiscate tanker truck loaded … with booze

Officers of the National Police and the Fiscal Control Police at the community of Paso Canoas, next to the Panama border, on Thursday seized a shipment of liquor with an approximate value of ₡20 million (some $38,000) hidden inside a tanker.

Police seize 4 million contraband cigarettes

A joint operation of several police units last Sunday led to the seizure of 200,000 packs of cigarettes that entered the country without paying taxes through the Caribbean port of Limón.

National Police seize contraband cargo an hour after inauguration of new checkpoint

Barely one hour after the official opening of a new police checkpoint at Kilometer 35 of the southern stretch of the Inter-American Highway, National Police officers seized a shipment of contraband merchandise inside a bus owned by a company that travels between Panama and Costa Rica, the Public Security Ministry reported.

Police seize contraband World Cup Sele shirts

It looks like even smugglers are getting into the World Cup spirit after Costa Rica's upset victory over Uruguay.

Costa Rica Border Police seize 7,000 doses of pharmaceutical drugs, other contraband at Nicaragua border

Border Police over the weekend conducted 25 operations along Costa Rica's northern border with Nicaragua, confiscating approximately ₡10 million ($18,000) in contraband from smugglers.

Smugglers play central role in money laundering, say law enforcement

Contraband might seem like a good deal, but law enforcement officials argue that the illicit trade aids money launderers, weakens an already strained tax collection system and could even pose a health hazard.
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