Q COSTARICA — The illicit drugs seized in recent days in Nicaragua allegedly originated in Costa Rica and even crossed border controls, which include scanners, according to Guatemalan truck driver Juan José Ríos Trujillo, who was arrested as part of the operation.
The Co-Director of the Nicaraguan National Police, Victoriano Ruiz, shared key details of the operation with the pro-government media news El19Digital.com.
According to the publication, the suspect claimed he was originally hired to transport a shipment of tools from Mexico to Costa Rica. The service was valued at US$1,800. It began on March 22 and concluded with the delivery of the cargo in Alajuela.
For the return trip, on March 26, the driver maintains he picked up a load of paper in Calle Blancos, on the northeast side of San José, with a destination of Santa Lucía Milpa Alta, Sacatepéquez, Guatemala.
However, that trip was thwarted by police intervention in Nicaragua.
“The detainee continued his account, stating that on Saturday, March 28, 2026, he headed towards the Costa Rican-Nicaraguan border. While in Costa Rica, his cargo was scanned, but no anomalies were detected,” reported El19Digital.
“On Sunday, March 29, 2026, at approximately 2:30 p.m., upon entering Nicaragua, anomalies were detected in the cargo. The drugs he was transporting in the coils were seized,” the report added.
How were the drugs detected?
According to the Policia Nacional, the detainee acknowledged that he had not caused any problems on his journey: “I passed through the scanner (in Costa Rica), then I went to Peñas Blancas on the Nicaraguan side, I went to the Narcotics module, they put the stamp on me to go through the scanner, I followed the customs protocol, I went through the scanner and I came out suspicious,” Trujillo reportedly said.
According to the Police Chief, the operation began with profiling the suspicious vehicle as it entered Nicaragua.
“At 6:00 p.m., at the Peñas Blancas Border Crossing in the municipality of Cárdenas, Rivas department, the aforementioned vehicle was stopped, and an inspection of the interior of the trailer revealed twenty rolls of Kraft paper,” the publication explains.
It was there that the operation uncovered the suspicious cargo.
“Seven of the rolls contained 1,057 rectangular packages wrapped in adhesive tape. A field test was positive for cocaine, with a total weight of 1,312 kilograms,” they added.
The police chief confirmed that when the Scintrex Trace technique (a cocaine particle detector) was applied to the steering wheel, gearshift, and dashboard of the tractor-trailer, as well as to the suspect’s hands, palms, and clothing, the results were positive for cocaine particles.
Furthermore, on March 26, the Policia Nacional announced the arrest of Guatemalan citizen Ricardo José Munguía Rodríguez, after police agents found US$415,550 in cash in his vehicle.
“The National Police continues to strike blows against organized crime and drug trafficking,” they stated regarding the incident in the municipality of La Paz Centro, in the department of León.
Nicaragua Steps Up Drug Interdiction
El19Digital described the recent police action as part of their “decisive blows against organized crime and international drug trafficking”.
The United States has formally accused the Ortega-Murillo regime in Nicaragua of involvement in drug trafficking, marking a significant escalation in tensions between the two countries. According to U.S. officials, members of President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo’s government have been implicated in facilitating the movement of narcotics.
The allegations point to a network that allegedly uses state resources and institutions to support drug shipments, undermining regional security and international law enforcement efforts.