2.500 Kilos of Cocaine Seized
Never in the history of Costa Rica have judicial authorities seized such an amount of cocaine - 2.500 kilos, valued at us$40 million dollars.

The haul was made early this Saturday morning in the Atlantic region by agents of the Fuerza Publica and the Servicio Nacional de guardacostas (coast guard). The aerial surveillance squad of the Ministerio de Seguridad Pública were on hand to keep an eye on an area called Laguna Samai, which is between Tortuguero and Barra del Colorado.

Police say they found the large load of the illegal drug buried on the beach which they say could have been there for as much as a week or more. The search was centred in the area after agents of the PCD - drug enforcement squad of the Seguridad Pública - had found an abandoned cigarret type speed boat commonly used by drug runners in the area. They were sure that either the drugs and/or the anti-socials were nearby. The speed boat was found some 10 days ago.

The seized cocaine is making it's way from the Atlantic coast to Limon and then by air to San José where it will be scrutinized by forensic experts at the Forensic centre in San Joaquín de Flores in Heredia.

As a result of the operation to locate and retrieve the narcotic, eight persons were also detained by police, which included an American, four Colombians, two Nicaraguans and a Costa Rican who is underage.

The group had sophisticated radio communications and other equipment in their possession. The group is being remanded to the Fiscalía in Limón (the prosecutor's office in the region) who will decide their fate.

According to a spokesperson for the Ministerio de Seguridad Pública (MSP) the detainment of the group is a result of an ongoing investigation in the area since February and could possibly be linked to the haul on Saturday.

The MSP says it has made a total of 133 aerial flights over the Caribbean zone in the last couple of months and have investigated a total of 164 individuals and 51 fishing boats in the area, confiscating 7 boats and two fire arms, in their efforts to keep the coastal area drug free.

The largest haul of narcotics recorded before Saturday's find was in October of 1997 when police stopped a truck hauling 1.300 kilos of cocaine in Paso Canoas near the southern border with Panama.