Costa Rica’s Drug Control Police detained 13 people, including two minors, in Liberia, Guanacaste, during an operation against retail drug-selling structures.[1] Most of those detained had judicial or police records for various acts.[1] A woman surnamed Ruiz was among those detained and wore an electronic ankle monitor under a prison benefit linked to a 2023 PCD drug-sale case.[1] The two minors were not identified.[1] The 13 detainees were placed at the disposal of the competent authorities to determine their legal situation.[1]

Officers carried out 10 searches in El Capulín and one more in Corazón de Jesús.[2] The operation took place in the early hours of Tuesday as part of Plan Escudo, which targets sectors identified as police-interest points for drug sales.[2] In the house searches officers seized 116 wrappers and 80 grams of marijuana, alongside 130 doses of crack and 10 doses plus 15 grams of cocaine.[1] Officers also seized 135,000 colones and 60 US dollars in cash and a handmade firearm.[1] Officers also found utensils that police said were used to prepare and dose drugs before sale.[1] The Fuerza Pública and the Air Surveillance Service supported the searches with security and coordination.[1]

Police said the targeted points operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week, distributing mainly crack, cocaine and marijuana.[1] Authorities linked the drug-selling activity to armed violence, robberies and public-order disturbances in the intervened sectors.[1] The searches targeted several homes that investigators said had been used to sell drugs for several months.[3]