Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and most recently France are among the countries where drug traffickers have been smuggling cocaine from Costa Rica since 2013.
The latest case was discovered on August 30th, when employees of a Coca-Cola plant in the village of Signes found 370 kilos of cocaine in a container of orange juice.
The Chamber of Exporters of Costa Rica (CADEXCO) expressed its concern about the negative impact on the country’s image.
These events are not only negatively affecting the country’s image in our major export destinations, they also show the great incidence of organized crime, making this situation a problem that not only affects the export sector, but the national security,
declared Laura Bonilla, president of the chamber.
Bonilla added that part of the solution is to place scanners at the ports (Moín, Limón and Caldera) to monitor the containers to be shipped. The petition was filed last year.
The Phytosanitary Service of the State (SFE) said that they are not related to that area which they believe is the responsibility of the Drug Control Police (PCD). However, the Ministry of Public Security spokesman said that controls on ports are the responsibility of the Ministry of Finance and the SFE.
The French police are conducting investigations to clarify the origin of the cocaine, valued at 55 million dollars.