The Costa Rican Drug Control Police (PCD) in coordination with National Direction of Intelligence and Security (DIS), as well as the US agencies FBI and DEA and the German agency BKA , carried out eight raids the morning of this Wednesday in relation to a drug trafficking operation.

As explained by the Minister of Security, Michael Soto, during a press conference carried out at 9 a.m. today, the investigation goes back to March 22, 2017 when the PCD received information from the FBI alerting of the presence of an international criminal organization apparently headed by an Israeli man of las name Orgad that was sending cocaine from Costa Rica to the United States and Europe.

The raids today took place in five houses, one apartment, a packinghouse and a platform factory located in different areas: Naranjo, Ciudad Quesada, Aguas Zarcas, Sarapiquí and San Sebastián.

As a result of the operations, 6 people were arrested a man of last name Jara, Costa Rican and 43 years-old; another Costa Rican of last name Gamboa and 44 years of age; a Colombian native of surname Pino of age 37; a woman of las name Boza, Costa Rican and 56 years-old, another man of surname Huertas (34), and another local of last name Valerio age 34.

The Israeli man suspected to head the organization, was not captured, according to Soto, the man was living in Hatillo, but “disappeared” approximately three months back, neighbors reported seeing him leave his house, but he never came back; his position in the organization was overtaken by one of the Costa Ricans arrested. The whereabouts of the Israeli are still unclear, all objects and personal items in his house were left behind; “we can presume many things, he could have left the country undetected or something may have happened to him”, said Soto.

The suspects hid the drug in the base of wooden platforms used to carry pineapples with destination to Germany.

In international operations in February this year in Neatherlands they seized 19.3 Kilograms of cocaine in a container that transported pineapples, the drugs were hidden in the wooden platforms; in April 2018 in Costa Rica, authorities found 8.3 kilograms of cocaine in a container that had as a destination Hamburg, Germany.