Today Costa Rican Security Minister Gustavo Mata Vega gave highlights of one of the biggest break ups of a drug ring to date in Costa Rica.

With today’s 12 arrests – 10 in Costa Rica and two in Colombia – a total of 38 people have been caught in connection with a Costa Rican-Colombian drug trafficking ring after a 2-year investigation, said the ministry press office.

Costa Rica’s Drug Control Police worked together with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the Colombian National Police to carry out the arrests and seize more than five tons of cocaine, smaller quantities of marijuana, as well as boats, vehicles, weapons, and cash

The investigation that began in April 2015, ended today, Thursday, May 4, 2017, and “sent a powerful blow to transnational drug trafficking,” said Mata.

The ring was led Colombians, and according to drug police, preliminary information indicated that members of the operation operated in Alajuela and Heredia, as well as along Costa Rica’s southern, central and northern Pacific coastal regions.

Of the 38 total arrested in connection with the drug ring, 14 are Costa Ricans and 24 foreigners, mainly Colombian. A total of 5.75 tons of cocaine, 684 grams of marijuana, US$335,167  and 2 million colones in cash, as well as seven boats, six vehicles, two automatic weapons and one pistol were seized in the police operations.

Mata Vega said, “The scope and success of this operation is due to the permanent coordination of actions and direct work between the drug control police of Costa Rica, the police in Colombia and the DEA.”

The operation also maintained real-time communication with the Costa Rican public prosecutor’s office.

Sentence times for such cases in Costa Rica range from eight to 20 years in prison. Police said they are still searching several properties in Costa Rica to conclude with “the total dismantling of this transnational organized crime group.”