The Policia Control de Drogas (PCD) confirmed the seizure of US$1,617,259 dollars hidden in the trailer from Honduras at the Peñas Blancas border crossing with Nicaragua.
The PCD reports stopping at the border crossing and after a close inspection found the hidden cash. The driver had intended to enter Costa Rica with packages of snacks.
The vehicle was driven by a 66-year-old Costa Rican man identified by his last name Salazar Ramírez, who had no criminal history.
The PCD reported that the vehicle is owned by a Costa Rican named Valverde, while the trailer registers in the name of the now-detained man.
Officials also found and seized ¢101,000 Costa Rican Colones, 4,019 Honduran Lempira (US$165), 1,200 Nicaraguan Córdoba (US$37) and 650 Guatemalan Quetzal (US$85).
The Liberia Criminal Court (Juzgado Penal de Liberia) ordered Salazar to three months preventive detention (remand).
The cash was hidden in a secret compartment placed in the cooling system of the trailer. The money confiscated also tested positive with drug traces, after the inspection carried out by the Canine Unit.
