2.2
Tonnes Of Cocaine Seized In Costa Rica
Costa Rican police seized over 2.2 tonnes of
cocaine in San Francisco de Dos Rios, in the
southern suburbs of the capital, San José.
The drugs were found late Wednesday in a
storage facility belonging to an
international drug gang that was shipping
the load to the Mexico and United States in
containers, officials said.
The illegal drug is believed to belong to
the Mexican drug cartel, the Cártel de
Sinaloa, headed by oaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán,
who is one of the most influent men in the
world, according to Forbes magazine, who
puts his net worth at over us$1 billion
dollars. Guzmán is also on the top of the
wanted list by the FBI and the DEA in the
US.
The Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ)
said that the drugs were being held in a
warehouse in downtown San José and was ready
to be shipped to Mexico.
Costa Rican authorities say the drugs
entered Costa Rica in small quantities from
Colombia and being accumulated for a mass
shipment. Officials say Costa Rica is used
as a collector and dispatch country.
Two Costa Ricans and two Colombian nationals
were arrested in the police action. The
Colombian, identified by his last name
Camelo, is suspected of being the leader of
the gang in Costa Rica and under direct
control of the Mexicans.
"Aparently the drugs were headed for Mexico,
but we have to investigate further", said
Francisco Segura, sub-director of the OIJ.
Segura added that the confiscation of the
haul was the result of a three month
investigation by the agents of the sección
de Estupefacientes (drug squad) of the OIJ
that believes the final destination of the
drugs was the US market.
Segura expressed concern as to how easy it
is to bring in illegal drugs into Costa
Rica. "We have to beef up our methods of
control of transportation, both on the roads
and in the water", said Segura, expressing
his contentment at the hard blow to the drug
traffickers with yesterday's haul.
The Sinaloa drug cartel is of the largest
drug trafficking organizations, having
tentacles in dozens of countries with a
strong hold on Central and South America.
The organization was established in Culiacán,
Sinaloa, on the Pacific coast of Mexico,
becoming the largest and most powerful drug
cartel in Mexico by the late 1980's.
So far this year Costa Rican authorities
have hit hard against the Sinaloa cartel
with the detention of 24 people alleged tied
to that powerful group.
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Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman is one of Mexico's most wanted criminals. He heads an alliance of drug traffickers based in Sinaloa, Mexico. In 2008, over 6,300 people died as Guzman's cartel fought turf wars with other drug cartels. Guzman is reportedly attempting to take control of all drug smuggling routes in Mexico and Central America.
On March 13, 2009, Forbes magazine named Guzman the 701th wealthiest person, with an estimated net worth of $1 billion.
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