The lack of a specific law is an obstacle so that this country’s anti-drug authorities can counteract the use of clandestine tracks through which aircraft with large quantities of drugs are mobilized.
Public Security Minister Michael Soto confirmed that in Costa Rica there are more than 105 landing spaces of an illegal nature, many of which are used by organized crime networks to bring cocaine from South America; however, when inspections are carried out, authorities can’t do much against it, since they are in private property.
One of the most recent cases occurred in the area of Pijije in Bagaces de Guanacaste, where the persecution of an aircraft was reported by the Air Surveillance Service, which landed to gain time on a clandestine runway and subsequently took flight again, leaving the national territory through Nicaragua.
A green Isuzu D-Max brand vehicle was found on the site, which belongs to a man named Guilá, who said his car was stolen.
Minister Soto confirmed to CRHoy.com that the track had already been intervened once, as a result of an anti-drug investigation, although he preferred not to give any more details.
It should be noted that most clandestine tracks are lands that are threshed with vehicles, or tractors, for supposed agricultural purposes because much of the land is used to plant rice or to raise cattle.
Recently, the authorities have managed to locate several aircraft with drugs. The most relevant case occurred in Salitral de Abangares where a Mexican was caught near a plane while guarding multiple packages of cocaine.