Agents of Costa Rica’s Drug Control Police (PCD) arrested a 57-year-old employee of the Montes de Oro municipal government at his home in Miramar on suspicion of selling drugs.[1] Police identified him only by the surname Salas.[2] He worked as a garbage collector.[3] According to the investigation, he allegedly used his rounds through different communities.[3] The raid took place in the early hours of Wednesday 16 September.[4] Officers carried it out with support from the Fuerza Pública, the uniformed police force.[5]

Inside the house, officers found doses of marijuana and crack, according to the police report.[1] They seized the doses, cash and utensils used to prepare and measure the drugs.[1] Repretel reported that officers also found cocaine.[3] The reports gave no weight for the marijuana or the crack, and no amount for the cash.[1]

Salas was placed at the disposal of the Puntarenas prosecutor’s office, which will continue the case and decide what to request from the courts.[1] The anti-narcotics prosecutor asked for preventive detention.[6] The Puntarenas criminal court instead released him under precautionary measures.[6] The court required him to live at a verified alternative address in Montes de Oro.[6] It barred him from leaving the country and ordered him to sign at court every 15 days.[6] He must also stay away from the raided house.[6] The court noted that he had held a stable job for 14 years and that drug sales at his workplace had not been established.[6] It also noted that a health condition requires daily treatment at a medical centre.[6] He remained a suspect while the public prosecutor’s office advanced the case.[1]

The Ministry of Public Security’s press office said drug sales carry eight to 15 years in prison.[7] The PCD is the specialised police body of the Ministry of Public Security for investigating local and international drug trafficking.[1]