Why So Much Coke in Costa Rica?
With the arrest of an Evangelical priest yesterday in Golfito, who was carrying 46 kilos of cocaine in vehicle, the total amount of the drug seized so far this year on Costa Rican soil is 3.010 kilos - 3.32 tons - that has a street value of more than us$40 million dollars, according to the information released by the Ministerio de Seguridad.

So, why is there is so much "coke"?

According to police, the drug traffickers have decided to move their goods from Colombia to the United States by land in response to important confiscations in the Caribbean by Costa Rican police.

The anti-drug police say that the confiscation of 2.554 tonnes of cocaine last April 24 in the Laguna Samay de Barra del Colorado, has forced traffickers to move their products by land. That confiscation was valued at more than us$40 million dollars.

The "narcos" are avoiding the maritime route for the time being and are preferring to move smaller amounts by land, hiding it in vehicles, according to the police source.

The cocaine that moves through Costa Rica comes from Colombia and Panama, according to the authorities. Making small shipments, the traffickers avoid the potential loss of large quantities and large financial losses.

Rogelio Ramos, Ministro de Seguridad, says that this due to the strong police action along the coastlines of the Costa Rica.

Ramos said that the shipments and confiscations by land are a normal occurrence. The Minister added that land shipments are very risky and that is why only small shipments at a time are made. Large shipments are normally made by sea.

According to statistics kept by Seguridad, 70% of all cocaine shipments are by sea and of that the largest percentage is by way of the Pacific Ocean. The Caribbean coast sees a smaller percentage of the smuggling.

Costa Rica currently has 16 patrol boats that are specially equipped to detect drug trafficking and is backed by U.S. ships under a "Patrullaje Conjunto" (joint patrol) agreement with the government of the United States.