This content was published on October 31, 2021 – 9:45 PM
San José, Oct 31 (EFE) .- The Costa Rican authorities seized 3 tons of marijuana this weekend in two boats, for which five Nicaraguans, two Costa Ricans and one Colombian were arrested, the Ministry of Security reported this Sunday .
The first seizure occurred on Saturday in the Caribbean Sea 45 miles off the coast of the city of Limón, when agents of the National Coast Guard Service intercepted a boat that was manned by two Costa Ricans with the last names Vargas and Quintanilla, and two Nicaraguans with the last names Salazar. and Chow.
In the Costa Rican flag boat, the agents found 1.4 tons of marijuana.
“Initially, as a product of this joint effort, the United States authorities were on a routine patrol, when a plane located and followed a suspicious vessel. In this way, the Americans coordinated with the Coast Guard (of Costa Rica), whose officers followed and captured the boat in Costa Rican waters, “explained the Ministry of Security.
The second case occurred on Saturday in Pacific waters where officials from the National Coast Guard intercepted a boat manned by three Nicaraguans and a Colombian and in which there were 1.6 tons of marijuana.
The events occurred 65 kilometers from Golfito, Puntarenas province (south) after the authorities received confidential information about the boat.
The boat named Blessed, without registration or flag, was manned by a Colombian named Valentierra, and three Nicaraguans named Dixon, Martin and Henríquez.
The detainees could face charges of international drug trafficking, a crime that in Costa Rica is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Official data indicate that in 2020 Costa Rica seized a total historical figure of 71 tons of drugs, of which 56.7 tons were cocaine and 14.4 tons were marijuana. EFE
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