What began as a routine investigation of suspicious activity in a condominium in Escazu on Wednesday, culminated in the seizure by the Fuerza Publica of almost two tons of cocaine, $1.5 million dollars, and c235 million colones. The condo is located in the Trejos Montealegre area of San Rafael de Escazu. Three people were detained in connection with the drug bust: two Colombian males, and a Costa Rican female.

Within the condo police discovered 1,986 bags of cocaine, weighing approximately one kilogram each along with 470 grams of marijuana. Cash found in condo totaled $1,548,980 dollars, and c235,420,000 in colones, all neatly bagged and boxed.
The Fuerza Publica was alerted by neighbors in the condo community, who noticed suspicious activity going on: unknown vehicles coming and going, and persons entering and exiting, seemingly with guns. The officers suspected narco-traffickers at work. The Policia de Control de Drogas (PCD) were summoned to the site. On October 18, a judge issued a search warrant, and the search was executed by the Fuerza Publica under the direction of the Minister of Public Security (MSP).

Three people were arrested at the scene: a 54-year old Colombian with the last name of Campo Oyaga, a 25-year old Colombian with the last name of Luna Cadena, and a 22-year old Costa Rican female with the last name of Vanegas Sandoval. One Colombian has permanent residency status, the other has temporary residency status, and none has a prior criminal record.
According to Dialogo Magazine, “The fight against narco-tafficking in Costa Rica during the first trimester of 2020, has yielded historic results. With the help of neighboring countries and the success of Costa Rica’s Fuerza Publica, we have broken the cell phone web of narco-traffickers, the sale and transportation routes of drugs, and have debilitated the finances of illegal bands of drug dealers operating in and through Costa Rica.”

Since January, 19 tons of drugs worth $532 million dollars on the international market have been seized, including three hefty drug busts earlier this year, but not including the recent bust in Escazu.
The goals of Costa Rica for the rest of 2020, according to the Minister of Security Michael Soto Rojas, are “To strengthen even further our ties to other countries, including the exchange of information and shared drug interdiction projects to combat narco-trafficking.”

Costa Rica is part of the Triangulo Sur, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama, with help from the USA, to develop new strategies against narco-traffickers, and to continue the success Costa Rica has had so far in 2020.
Hopefully the money seized can help combat Costa Rica’s growing economic hardships due to the Coronavirus’ effects on business and tourism

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