Panamanian drug agents captured ex-OIJ detective Mauricio Garcia, 40, aboard his yacht Oct. 20. The yacht was anchored just off the province of Bocas del Toro in Panama waters with 633 kilos (more than 1000 lbs.) of cocaine aboard.

Garcia was arrested by OIJ 18 years ago and, along with two others, was condemned to 12 years in prison for the murder of Costa Rican farmer Ciro Monge. He completed his sentence Aug. 26, 2010.

Monge’s murder Aug. 31, 1994, shocked the country and especially the elite investigative agency OIJ for its brutality. The farmer was decapitated and his hands cut off in an effort to foil identification, his body dumped in a ditch on the San Jose-Guapiles road.

Prosecutors theorized that the motive in that case had been a drug-related dispute. Two other ex-OIJ officials were also sentenced to a dozen years. All have completed their sentences and are now free.

Garcia’s latest arrest was conducted in a police intelligence operation known as “Red Frog.” Information was so exact that police immediately found the cocaine hiding place, a secret compartment in the hull of the yacht Alimar.

Costa Rican police said the yacht departed Playa del Coco in Costa Rica and apparently went through the Panama Canal, presumably bound for Mexico.