Tag: cocaine
72 tons of drugs seized in Costa Rica were destroyed with plasma in Miami
HQ - The 71.7 tons of illegal drugs (a record number) seized from drug traffickers in 2020 were flown on US planes to Miami, (USA), to be destroyed by an innovative process called plasma gasification, saving Costa Rica money.
In Miami, the seized drugs are...
Scanner operators at APM Terminals among arrested for facilitating exit of container with cocaine
QCOSTARICA - Two women in charge of operating the scanners at the APM Terminals dock, in MoÃn (Limon) were detained for providing false information about a container loaded with fruit and containing 990 kilos of cocaine
The drug hidden in the shipment of pineapple that...
Salvatore Ponzo and the Italian Mafia’s Infiltration of Costa Rica
InSight Crime - In photos published by the Costa Rican press, Salvatore Ponzo, an Italian fruit exporter, wears polo shirts and baseball caps emblazoned with the logo of his company. He smiles, his beard neatly trimmed.
This was a very different look from the Ponzo...
Six Ways Coronavirus is Impacting Organized Crime in the Americas
(Insightcrime) Criminal groups across Latin America have been forced to dig deep by the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown. Moving drugs and contraband, shaking down extortion victims and getting migrants across borders have all become far more difficult amid increased scrutiny and the lack...
It’s snow joke: Colombia threatens to sue Walmart over sweater
The Colombian government agency, Agencia JurÃdica de Defensa (Legal Defence Agency) has threatened to sue Walmart over a Christmas sweater that associated the country to cocaine.
The sweater, offered by a third-party seller on Walmart’s Canadian website featured an image of a bug-eyed Santa Claus...
Authorities seize a ton of cocaine in a boat in Puntarenas
On Wednesday, authorities in Costa Rica seized just over a ton of cocaine in a vessel 54 nautical miles off the coast of Puntarenas.
The seizure occurred thanks to a joint operation of the Ministerio de Seguridad Pública, Servicio Nacional de Guardacostas, Servicio de Vigilancia...
Dirty money: The real reason for Maduro’s survival
When asked to explain why their efforts to oust Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro have fallen short, Trump administration officials typically cite the sinister influence of Cuba and Russia, which they say has stiffened the regime’s resistance.
What they don’t speak about so much is a...
Italy Seizes 650 Kg Cocaine Shipped Via Costa Rica
Italian authorities report the seizure of 650 kg of cocaine in the northwestern port of Livorno earlier this month, more than double the entire amount seized there last year, originating from Central America.
The street value of the seized cocaine, discovered on January 15 stuffed...
Spanish police find an unusual cocktail from Costa Rica – pineapple and cocaine
Spanish police have seized 67 kilos (148 pounds) of cocaine found inside hollowed-out pineapples discovered at Madrid's main fruit and vegetable market, Mercamadrid. The drug-stuffed fruits were among a shipment of pineapples that arrived in the Portuguese port of Setubal by ship from Costa...
New patrol boats lay siege to drug traffickers in Punta Burica
Costa Rica authorities said on Thursday they had seized two tons of cocaine from a low-profile boat found about 130 km off the coast, one of the biggest drug confiscations made at sea, after receiving a tip from the U.S. Coast Guard on Wednesday.
The...
Italian Detained At San Jose Airport With 197 ovules of Cocaine In Stomach
Nervous when boarding a flight to Germany, an Italian national, was arrested while trying to leave Costa Rica with 197 ovules of cocaine inside his body.
Following his arrest, the man was transferred to a medical center.
The detention was made at the Juan Santamaria international...
DIS Security Guard Linked To International Drug Trafficking
A man surnamed Segura Jiménez, 49, a security guard of the Directorate of Intelligence and National Security (DIS) was arrested by the OIJ for being a suspect in international drug trafficking.
The arrest occurred on Wednesday morning in San Jerónimo de Desamparados. The operation was...
Costa Rica Police Find 197 Kg Of Cocaine Abandoned Near Nicaragua Border
Authorities of the Ministry of Public Security found a shipment of cocaine, apparently abandoned, at a point near the border with Nicaragua.
PolicÃa Control de Drogas (PCD) - Drug Control Police- officers said that in total the illegal drugs weighed in at 197 kilos, in...
OIJ raids 40 houses to dsimantle drug distribution network in Heredia (Photos)
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) raided a total of 40 homes in the province of Heredia in an attempt to dismantle a gang dedicated to the distribution of illegal drugs. In total 5 groups were targeted...
Colombia: Is Cocoa The New Cocaine?
38,000 Colombian families will now work together as a new company called MarÃa del Campo, which will operate under a similar business model of that of coffee growers.
A now peaceful country is reshaping its economy
The long-term project will be based out of Bogotá and...
Cocaine Consumption On the Rise? Think Again
Colombia's coca cultivation boom is not only being blamed for increased cocaine consumption in the United States, it is also being held responsible for an alleged growth in local demand in Colombia. But the evidence doesn't stack up. And these unsubstantiated notions are being...
Narcos Continues Without Pablo Escobar As The Battle Turns To The Cali Cartel
A third season is a difficult time for any show. Though all of the characters and beats of the series have been well established, Season 3 still has to be different enough to engage fans while feeling like the same show.
That challenge is especially...
In Costa Rica, Crime Does Pay. Until …
A criminal gang operating in Perez Zeledon and Buenos Aires de Puntarenas, in the southern zone, dealing in illegal drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and crack, had sales of more than ¢20 million colones a week. Until.
Until ... Wednesday ... when the Organismo de...
ATMs dispense more than money: The dirt and dope that’s on your cash
We live in a dirty world. Wherever we go, we are among microbes. Bacteria, fungi and viruses live on our phones, bus seats, door handles and park benches. We pass these tiny organisms to each other when we share a handshake or a seat...
Low-priced Drugs Flood The Country
Q COSTA RICA - A change in the business model of narcos - drug traffickers - has resulted in an oversupply of illegal drugs in Costa Rica, making substances such as synthetic drugs, crack, cocaine and marijuana more accessible, especially to young people.
Authorities in...
Are Colombians Spreading the Coca Curse to Honduras?
(Q24N) Insightcrime.org - Officials believe a coca plantation recently discovered in Honduras was set up by Colombians, suggesting a criminal migration that could potentially not only import the drug production businesses to Central America but also the coca curse that has long ravaged Colombia.
An...
Coca Plantation ‘Experiment’ in Honduras Raises Eyebrows
(Q24N) Insightcrime.org - Authorities have located coca plantations in Honduras, a sign that the Central American nation could be evolving from its traditional role as a transportation corridor to one that is also a drug producer.
Agents from Honduras' Office to Fight Drug Trafficking (Dirección...
Peru Deploys Army To Stop Cocaine Production
(Q24N) The Peruvian government wants to replace coca farms with alternative forms of agriculture, but first it must retake over 50,000 hectares of land from rebels.
Thus, for the first time, the Peruvian army will enter criminally controlled coca-growing areas as part of a plan...
Rise In Homicides Linked To Drug Trafficking
The street sale of crack and marijuana has become such a lucrative business in Costa Rica, that controlling the streets is the cause of many of the country's murders.
This is the determination of the Organismo de Investigacion Judicial (OIJ) analysis of the fundamental reason...
‘Synthetic Marijuana’ Causes First Major Intoxication in Costa Rica
Q COSTA RICA - Although the synthetic marijuana, known as K2, has been in Costa Rica for the past year, it wasn't until Thursday that it caused the first major intoxication in the country.
Prior to Thursday, there have been occasional reported cases of persons...
The Regions of Colombia Playing the Biggest Role in the Coca Boom
A coca farmer in Columbia with his crop. Photo Phil Chan/Flickr
TODAY COLOMBIA – InSight Crime takes a closer look at shifts in coca cultivation trends in 19 of Colombia’s departments based on the most recent US estimates, shedding light on the different dynamics on...
OIJ Agent Was Advisor To Narco Group
Q COSTA RICA - Following a year long investigation into a drug trafficking organization that shipped cocaine from Costa Rica to Spain, England and the United States, the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) learned that one of their own was advising the narcos.
The official,...
Bolivia Raises Coca Cultivation Limits, Widens Legal Supply-Demand Gap
(Q24N / Insightcrime.org) Bolivia's government has agreed to raise permitted levels of legal coca production after violent protests by farmers, in a move that exacerbates the flaw in the country's otherwise largely successful coca policy: the gap between legal production and legal consumption.
On February...
Demobilization of FARC In Colombia Could Threaten Costa Rica Security: Minister
Q COSTA RICA (Insightcrime.org) Authorities in Costa Rica are worried that the dismantling of Colombia's main guerrilla group could threaten the country's stability, as a new generation of criminal networks are likely to take over the drug routes formerly held by the insurgents.
Speaking before...
“There Is No Beach in Costa Rica That Drug Traffickers Have Not Penetrated”, Security Minister
Q COSTA RICA - Costa Rica's Ministerio de Seguridad Publica (minister of Security), Gustavo Mata, has denounced an increase in drug trafficking in the country, and asked legislators to accelerate the approval of the bill on "Annulment of Ownership" in order to strengthen the...
Panama’s Record Drug Seizures Reflect Colombia’s Cocaine Boom
(Q24N) Insigthcrime.org - Authorities in Panama say they have seized more drugs in 2016 than in any other year since 2000, and soaring cocaine production in neighboring Colombia may be the most likely explanation behind this rise.
As of December 13, authorities had intercepted 62.3...
Colombia’s Growing Local Drug Market Now Worth US$2 Billion
Changing economic and criminal dynamics in the country had led to internal drug market growth in Colombia(Today Colombia) - Insightcrime.org -Colombia’s internal drug market has grown over the past few decades and is now worth an estimated US$2 billion dollars, a trend driven by...
