Costa Rican Police Seize 5-Tonne Cocaine Haul
Approximately five tonnes of cocaine bound for the Netherlands were seized by police authorities in Costa Rica.
According to reports, the drugs were hidden in a consignment of decorative canopy flowers that was scheduled to be shipped on Saturday, 15 February, from the port of Limon to the Dutch port city of Rotterdam.
After searching the consignment, anti-narcotics police found 202 suitcases containing a total of 5 048 packages of cocaine, each of which weighed around one kilogram.
Costa Rica’s security minister, Michael Soto, explained in a statement that the cocaine’s street value was €126 million in the Netherlands’ Holland province.
Soto added: “It’s a historic seizure. It is a blow to the regional criminal structures.”
The 46-year-old Costa Rican man – who allegedly drove the cocaine shipment from north of the country to Limon port – has been arrested and is currently being kept in police custody.
