Video: Costa Rica’s biggest-ever cocaine bust was headed to Netherlands
With reporting by Jamie de Geir.
The largest drug bust in Costa Rica’s history involved over five thousand kilograms of cocaine destined for The Netherlands. The drugs were found on Saturday, hidden amongst a shipment of canopy plants being sent to Rotterdam, according to the country’s Ministry of Public Security.
A search of a sea container at the Port in Limón turned up 5,048 individually wrapped bundles of cocaine, each weighing about a kilogram. The packages were stashed inside 202 black duffel bags.
Más de 5 toneladas de cocaína arrebatadas por #PCDCR al narcotráfico, este se convirtió en el decomiso de droga más grande en la historia de Costa Rica. Cargamento fue detectado en contenedor en #Moín de #Limón, tenía plantas ornamentales de carga lícita con destino a Holanda. pic.twitter.com/agmOvDo3DH
— Seguridad Pública (@seguridadcrc) February 16, 2020
The value of the cocaine was estimated at 126 million euros, the ministry said based on street values in Netherlands. “It is a historic seizure. It is a blow to the regional criminal structures” Public Security Minister Michael Soto Rojas said in a statement to Reuters about the bust.
A 46-year-old Costa Rican man was arrested in connection with the case, AFP reported. He is suspected of driving the drug shipment to the port, according to Reuters.
Gracias a efectivo trabajo de la #PCDCR, al hombre que conducía el cabezal donde iba el contenedor con más de 5 toneladas de cocaína, le fueron impuestos tres meses de prisión preventiva. Esta droga se convirtió en el decomiso más grande de cocaína en la historia de Costa Rica. pic.twitter.com/qz6I5AksFN
— Seguridad Pública (@seguridadcrc) February 16, 2020
On the same day as the bust in Costa Rica, the Dutch authorities made a drug bust of their own. Some 500 kilograms of cocaine was found at the port of Rotterdam hidden within a mango shipment. The cargo had arrived from Brazil, according to the Public Prosecutor’s Office (OM).
No arrests were announced in the case. The drugs were later destroyed.
An investigation into the case is ongoing, the OM said.
En este momento el ministro de Seguridad Pública Michael Soto brinda detalles del decomiso de cocaína más grande en la historia del país. Más de cinco toneladas de droga arrebatadas al narcotráfico. pic.twitter.com/nwHZpUpxmC
— Seguridad Pública (@seguridadcrc) February 16, 2020
