Two held as 1,724 kg of marijuana seized off Cabo Matapalo
Costa Rica's coast guard seized about 1,724 kilos of marijuana plus 36 kilos of cocaine from a boat intercepted 24 km off Cabo Matapalo on 1 December 2023. Two Nicaraguan crew members were detained and handed to prosecutors after a United States patrol aircraft spotted the vessel.
🇨🇷 Pacific waters 24 km off Cabo Matapalo, Puntarenas · Costa Rica
Costa Rica’s coast guard captured a drug boat 24 kilometres off Cabo Matapalo in
the southern Pacific in the early hours of Friday.[1]The two men aboard, both
Nicaraguan nationals, were detained.[1]The Tico Times identified them as
44-year-old captain Wilson and 27-year-old sailor Julias.[2]Both were placed
at the disposal of the prosecution service.[1]
Officers found about 1,724 kilos of marijuana and 36 kilos of cocaine on the
vessel.[1]The boat, named Lexus with foreign registration CP-01-3333, was 38
feet long and fitted with two 250Hp outboard engines.[2]
A United States maritime patrol aircraft had spotted the craft on Thursday
afternoon and alerted the Costa Rican coast guard, which pursued it.[1]The
chase lasted about 12 hours before the capture.[2]The boat also carried 17
tins holding about 500 litres of fuel.[2]
Photos and video
Packages from the Cabo Matapalo boat seizure described as 1,724 kilos of marijuana and 36 kilos of cocaine seized in Pacific waters.Photo details
1 December 2023 is inferred as the interception date: the article published on Saturday 2 December says the boat was captured in the early hours of Friday after being spotted on Thursday afternoon.
No charges, custody ruling or court outcome beyond the handover to prosecutors was reported.
The 36 kilos of cocaine found with the marijuana are noted only to describe the mixed load and are excluded from the cannabis figures.
Costa Rica's National Coast Guard detained two Ecuadorian men in a 38-foot go-fast boat 52 nautical miles south-east of Punta Burica and seized 2,648 one-kilogram marijuana packages at Golfito. The Public Ministry is deciding their legal situation, and no charges or court step have been reported.
Fuerza Pública officers seized nine packs and 158 doses of suspected marijuana plus cash at the Miraflores dike in Taras, Cartago, after three suspects fled. The mixed seizure also contained crack, cocaine, tusi and ecstasy and was handed to judicial authorities.
Costa Rica's National Coast Guard reported seizing 14,912 kilos of marijuana as part of more than 44 tonnes of drugs intercepted in maritime operations so far in 2026, with 66 people apprehended and 26 vessels seized. The South Pacific accounted for 24 interventions against one in the Caribbean, in operations the service attributed to joint work with the United States, Panama and Colombia.
Costa Rica's Fuerza Pública and Drug Control Police seized 524 marijuana packages, more than 250 kg in total, from a vehicle at a road control in Macho Gaff, San Isidro de El Guarco, Cartago. Two men suspected of transporting the load were handed to the Public Ministry, and the packages bore images of Mexican trafficking figures.
