QCOSTARICA – In Costa Rica two Nutech scanners donated by China in 2008 remain unused, while exporting businesses are warning of the growing infiltration of drug trafficking in the sector.
Using scanners at the ports of Limon and reactivating inspection mechanisms that were used before to control cargo in containers, are part of the measures the agro-export sector is asking of the government in order to identify potential drugs hidden in shipments of merchandise.
Crhoy.com reports that “… In recent years, recurrent cases of the entry of drugs into Europe, have been detected coming from Costa Rica via the martime route using pineapple or cassava exports as a smokescreen. Points such as Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain were a gateway for drugs sent from here and several drug trafficking organizations that operate in this way were dismantled at different times. ”
Laura Bonilla, president of Cadexco, commented that “… ‘We have an action plan, there is a responsibility on the part of the government and employers. Initially we will be working on this in two ways: setting up the scanners and reactivating the Drug Control Program of the United Nations (UN). Meanwhile, in businesses, we are training them so that they do not become implicated in any illegal business’. ”
Source: Crhoy.com, CentralAmericaData.com