The Policia Control de Drogas (PCD) – Costa Rica Drug Control Police -report the confiscation of 2.3 tons of cocaine aboard a Costa Rican fishing boat, 112 nautical kilomertres from Isla del Coco (Cocos Island) in the Pacific Ocean.
The boat named Goliath I, of Costa Rica registry, was intercepted in the early Saturday (June 28) morning by the United States Coast Guard, the USCGC Bertholf, in conjunction with Costa Rican authorities, as part of the multinational counterdrug effort Operation MARTILLO, which targets illicit trafficking routes in coastal waters along the Central American isthmus.
Three Costa Ricans, identified by their surname Aguilar (49), Colista (21) and Bejarano (27) and a Nicaraguan named Castillo were arrested.
All four had prior criminal records, according to authorities.
One of the world’s largest uninhabited islands, Cocos Island has become a route for drug trafficking over the recent years.
Nine (9) metric tons of cocaine has been seized so far this year. In 2013, Costa Rican authorities seized 19.8 tons of cocaine, according to the Ministry of Public Security.
Sources: La Nación; Ministry of Public Security
