Cops Nab 20.3 Tons of Cocaine This Year
by Rod Hughes
Is drug trafficking in Costa Rica getting worse? Or are the police getting smarter?
Or are both factors at play?
Whatever, police, both judicial (like the FBI in the United States) and regular cops, have bagged a record 20.3 metric tons of cocaine and 178 suspects so far this year. And 57 of the suspected narcotics traffickers are foreigners, including—if you can believe it—three Lithuanians.
The haul was accomplished in 71 operations against international smuggling and 137 local, resulting in the dismemberment of 20 organized drug-running gangs, reports the daily paper Al Dia today.
Ministry of Public Security reports 40 cases of arrests at Juan Santamaria International Airport, the country’s principal air terminal, where narcotics were found either on travelor’s persons or in their luggage.