Costa Rican police find six tonnes of cocaine in biggest ever haul

Rory Sullivan
·1 min read
Costa Rican police officers are seen on Saturday February 15, 2020, in front of packages containing cocaine seized during an operation in the Caribbean: Reuters
Costa Rican police officers are seen on Saturday February 15, 2020, in front of packages containing cocaine seized during an operation in the Caribbean: Reuters

Police in Costa Rica have found almost 6 tonnes of cocaine in a shipping container, leading to the country’s biggest ever drug seizure.

The drugs, which weighed 5,800kg, were discovered on Friday evening in Limón in a container of flowers due to be sent to Rotterdam, Holland, according to the Costan Rican national newspaper La Nación.

In a press conference on Saturday afternoon, interior minister Michael Soto Rojas confirmed it was the largest ever drug seizure in Costa Rica.

The interior minister estimated that the haul has a European market value of €126m (£104.6m).

More than 5,000 packets of cocaine were found inside 202 suitcases.

A 46-year-old Costa Rican man with no previous criminal convictions has been arrested in connection to the drug haul.

According to the minister, there was a drugs seizure of almost three tonnes in Costa Rica a decade ago.