Authorities detained six men after intercepting two drug boats in Costa Rica’s southern Pacific in less than 24 hours.[1][2] Aboard the boat named Angel del Pacifico were three Colombians, Hidalgo, aged 23 and the captain, Galvez, aged 50, and Pertuz, aged 31.[1][2] Aboard the second boat were two Ecuadorians, Chila, aged 28 and the captain, and Gonzalez, aged 34, and Colombian Quinones, aged 38.[1][2] The six comprised four Colombians and two Ecuadorians.[3] Police said the six face international drug-trafficking charges while investigations into possible transnational links continue.[3]

The Drug Control Police said the Angel del Pacifico carried 150 kilos of cocaine and about 2,750 kilos of marijuana, together 2,900 kilos.[1][2] Officers counted 2,526 packages of cocaine, about 2.5 tonnes, on the second boat.[3][2] The ministry put both boats together at 5,426 kilos, about 5.4 tonnes, of both drugs.[3] The Angel del Pacifico was a 38-foot boat with no registration or flag and three 200-horsepower outboard motors.[3][2] The second was a 38-foot nauta-type boat with three 250-horsepower motors whose crew tried to escape before officers boarded and detained them.[1]

Special Operations Group officers of the National Coast Guard Service intercepted the Angel del Pacifico 145 nautical miles, 270 kilometres, southwest of Golfito in Puntarenas province.[1][2] The other interception followed a pursuit of a suspicious boat in Bahia Ballena de Osa in the southern zone.[1][2] Costa Rica said intelligence shared by the Colombian Navy and Panamanian authorities, plus air support from the United States Joint Interagency Task Force South, located the boats.[1][2] The Angel del Pacifico was taken to Golfito, where officers counted its load.[3] The packages remain under judicial custody for analysis as part of the legal proceedings.[3]