Authorities dismantle major drug trafficking ring in Guanacaste in 18 raids

May 20^th, 2015 (InsideCostaRica.com) Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ) yesterday dismantled an international drug trafficking organization operating in Guanacaste in a series of 18 coordinated raids involving 150 police throughout Guanacaste and the Central Valley.

Raids were executed in Liberia and La Cruz in Guanacaste, as well as in Cartago and Escazu.  Seven men and five women were arrested in the raids, including the group’s alleged ringleader, a 35-year-old man identified by the last name Carmona.

Authorities allege the group smuggled cocaine between Guanacaste and San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua by sea and land, laundering the proceeds of their criminal activity by investing millions in real estate in Liberia and Cartago.

Police seized eight vehicles, two boats, firearms and an unspecified amount of cash during the raids.  Authorities also seized seven properties, including a restaurant in Cartago.

Authorities have been investigating the group since July of last year, according to the OIJ.

The OIJ also said that investigators were able to determine that $3 million USD in cash discovered in the home of a 44-year-old car mechanic in Heredia in October belonged to the group.  Authorities discovered the cash after the mechanic, identified by the last name Jimenez, was shot in the home he shared with his mother.  Jimenez survived the shooting.

Authorities are seeking six months of pretrial detention of the suspects.

Some of the cash that was discovered in the Heredia home of a 44-year-old car mechanic in October of last year. (Photo courtesy of the OIJ)