By Wendy Anders

Last night at 7:00 pm, during a routine police stop on Route 27 near the exit for Multiplaza Escazú, police detained a white cargo pick-up truck driven by a 29-year-old Colombian national by the last name Betancourt, stated the Security Ministry in a press release this afternoon.

Police flagged the pick-up truck when they noticed the driver seemed nervous as he approached the police stop.

Upon inspection, police discovered that the truck’s bed had been outfitted with an additional cavity in which hundreds of cocaine packets weighing a total of 214 kgs were neatly stacked.

Betancourt holds Costa Rican residency, and has no police record, said the police press office.

Police sought assistance from the Anti-Drug Police who confirmed the existence of drugs in the truck’s bed.

Betancourt is being held on charges of trafficking illegal drugs, which in Costa Rica carries sentences of between eight and 20 years.