A police officer is seen in front of packages containing cocaine seized during an operation in the Caribbean
SAN JOSE, Feb 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — 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. — NNN-AGENCIES