Skip to main contentSkip to navigationSkip to navigation
A police officer is seen in front of packages containing cocaine seized during an operation in the Caribbean, as Costa Rica’s security minister, Michael Soto, speaks to the media.
A police officer is seen in front of packages containing cocaine seized during an operation in the Caribbean, as Costa Rica’s security minister, Michael Soto, speaks to the media. Photograph: Juan Carlos Ulate/Reuters
A police officer is seen in front of packages containing cocaine seized during an operation in the Caribbean, as Costa Rica’s security minister, Michael Soto, speaks to the media. Photograph: Juan Carlos Ulate/Reuters

Costa Rica's largest drugs bust nets five tonnes of cocaine bound for Netherlands

This article is more than 4 years old

Authorities found tonnes of cocaine stashed inside a shipping container of decorative canopy plants

Police in Costa Rica seized more than five tonnes of cocaine bound for the Dutch port of Rotterdam in the country’s largest ever drugs bust, officials said.

Authorities on Saturday found the cocaine in Costa Rica’s Caribbean port of Limon, stashed inside a shipping container of decorative canopy plants bound for the Netherlands.

The anti-narcotics police discovered the drugs in 202 small bags and said the cocaine was produced in South America, though did not specify where.

The drugs had an estimated street value of about 126 million euros in Holland, Costa Rica’s security minister Michael Soto said.

“It’s a historic seizure,” Soto said in a statement. “It is a blow to the regional criminal structures.“

A Costa Rican man, who drove the shipment from north of the country to Limon port, was detained, authorities said.

Most viewed

Most viewed