By Wendy Anders

This weekend at Costa Rica’s northern Peñas Blancas border with Nicaragua, anti-drug police seized some serious cash hidden in a jalapeño-filled truck arriving from Honduras, reported the Public Security Ministry press office.

All told, a Honduran man had US$182,680 in bills of 20, 50 and 100 dollars stashed in the truck’s differential, a device connected to the axel that splits a vehicle’s engine torque two ways and controls traction, said the ministry.

This brings the total in police seizures of illegally smuggled currency this year to over US$1.1 million.

The man, identified as having the last name Mejía, will serve a 3-month preventive detention term while the case is investigated by the Liberia, Costa Rica prosecutor’s office, said police.

Costa Rica’s Illicit Drug Law, which also aims to control money laundering, requires all people entering or leaving the country to declare cash or securities they are carrying in the amount of US$10,000 or more.

Earlier this month, the Costa Rican Drug Institute (ICD) released statistics for the year stating they have received an average of 29 money laundering alerts per month. About a quarter of these suspicious transactions wind up tagged for further research after a preliminary investigation is done, said the ICD.