33 kilos of cocaine seized in container with fruit leaving Costa Rica for Belgium

San José.- The Ministry of Public Security of Costa Rica reported this Monday the seizure of 33 kilograms of cocaine hidden inside a container that carried fresh fruit as legal cargo and had as its final destination a port in Belgium. The report from the Costa Rican authorities indicates that the drugs found at the APM Terminals Container Terminal, located in Moín, in the province of Limón (Caribbean), indicates that the drug packages were in the refrigeration compartment of a container. "By using the scanner, it was possible to detect 33 kilograms of cocaine that were intended to be sent to the port of Antwerp in Belgium. This action by the police reflects the activation of drug controls in this important Costa Rican export port," said the Minister of Security, Mario Zamora.

You can also read: Half a ton of cocaine seized in Ecuador

According to the preliminary report, the current mode of operation of the drug traffickers is to smuggle small amounts of cocaine. In July 2023, the Costa Rican government initiated Operation Sovereignty, through which it installed scanners and reinforced police presence at the Moín Container Terminal, in order to combat the export of drugs in shipments of legitimate products, especially to European countries. Since that date, a total of 13,673 tons of cocaine have been seized.