What Happens To Confiscated Drug Money?
Last year the Policía Antidrogas confiscated more than ¢2 billion colones (us$3.8 million dollars). So what happens to this and other money authorities confiscate?

Drug trafficking is surely the main problem Costa Rica faces, but not all is bad, since all this drug activity that produces lucrative profits for the criminals, also provides a source of income for police agencies.

In the last 12 months, authorities took in 27 tractor trailers, more than four million dollars in cash, a small airplane, ten luxury vehicles, real estate, boats and other valuables worth more than ¢15 million dollars.

All the confiscated cash and valuables from drug trafficking goes to the Instituto Costarricense sobre Drogas, which are held by that insitution as the investigations adances.

However, not all the confiscated valuables end up taking space in the Instituto's warehouse, a number of the items are used to combat drug trafficking, like vehicles that used by police officials to move against drug traffickers, as well as aircraft and a large amount of the cash is used to in prevention measures.

The current policy is that once a judge orders the confiscation of the goods and ownership is subsequently legally transferred to the State, the goods and cash are divided up among the various institutions.