Two Nicaraguans held off Matapalo with 1,940 marijuana packs
Costa Rican coast guards intercepted a 36-foot speedboat about 120 nautical miles off Playa Matapalo, Quepos, and arrested two Nicaraguan crew members. The Drug Control Police later counted 1,940 packages of marijuana weighing about one kilogram each, plus one kilogram of cocaine.
🇨🇷 Playa Matapalo, Quepos, Puntarenas · Costa Rica
Arrested
2
Cannabis
1.94 t
Costa Rican authorities detained two Nicaraguan men after intercepting a
speedboat carrying apparent marijuana in the southern Pacific.[1]Only the two
Nicaraguan suspects were aboard, and officers arrested them and placed them at
the disposal of the Public Ministry.[1]The two were later identified by the
surnames Bustillo and Simón, with police records showing no criminal history in
Costa Rica.[2]Both remained in judicial custody while precautionary measures
were pending.[2]
The fast boat was located off Playa Matapalo in Quepos, Puntarenas.[1]Special-operations coast guards stopped the 36-foot boat about 120 nautical
miles off Matapalo and found it fitted with two outboard motors.[2]Officers
found 70 bundles aboard, first described as holding about 20 packs each for
roughly 1,400 packs of apparent marijuana.[1]The Drug Control Police then
carried out the formal count and processing of the seized evidence.[2]
The seizure came in a joint operation by Costa Rica’s Coast Guard with
authorities from the United States, Colombia and Panama.[2]Coast Guard
director Juan Carlos Alvarado said a United States aircraft first spotted the
boat 92 miles offshore.[1]Costa Rican crews then tracked it for more than
eight hours using its speed, distance and course.[1]The boat, the detainees
and the load were taken to port for judicial proceedings and inspection of the
drugs.[1]The two Nicaraguans were placed at the order of the Costa Rican
prosecution, which will decide their legal situation as investigators examine
the load’s origin and destination.[1]
Photos and video
The intercepted speedboat and detained men during the anti-drug operation off Matapalo. Photo: Ministerio de Seguridad Pública de Costa Rica Source: La Prensa
The first account reported about 1,400 packs and said the weight had not been released; the later drug-police count was 1,940 packs of about one kilogram each, so 1,940 kg is an approximate pack-weight calculation, not a laboratory weight.
One kilogram of cocaine reported with the marijuana is mentioned only to explain the mixed load and is excluded from cannabis figures.
La Prensa said the detainees had not been identified, while AM Prensa gave only the surnames Bustillo and Simón; no given names were published.
No charges, precautionary ruling or court outcome were reported; the men were awaiting a prosecutorial and judicial decision.
The articles give no separate date for the interception; 22 June 2026 is the publication date used as the incident date.
The submitted page also recalls a separate January 2026 seizure of about 3.5 tonnes off Cabo Matapalo, left out here as a different event.
The 120-nautical-mile position is at sea; coordinates are for Playa Matapalo as the named locality, not the interception point.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in AM Prensa: That later count was 1,940 marijuana packages of about one kilogram each, plus one kilogram of cocaine.
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 Fuerza Pública detained a man in Grecia, Alajuela, on the first night of its Halloween operation after police said he was carrying marijuana, cocaine and crack, and seized the same three drugs and ₡655,000 in cash in Palmares. The operation deployed 1,500 officers for Halloween and the Día de la Mascarada Costarricense.
Costa Rican coast guards intercepted two drug boats in the southern Pacific on 8 July 2026 and detained six crew members, four Colombians and two Ecuadorians. Police said one boat carried about 2,750 kg of marijuana alongside cocaine, the cannabis component recorded here.
On the night of 20 January 2026 Costa Rican drug police and the Coast Guard, with DEA support, intercepted a go-fast boat about 40 nautical miles southwest of Cabo Matapalo and seized 6,452 marijuana packages weighing 3,548 kg. Three Colombian crew members were detained and the vessel Monarca CP01 was towed to Golfito.
