Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency raided a cabin used as a drug storehouse in Santa Clara, El Guarco, Cartago, on the evening of Monday 3 August 2026.[1] Four men aged 34 to 39, surnamed Abarca, Fuentes, Orozco and Araya, were caught inside the cabin with the drugs.[1] Officers found 1,092 one-kilo packages of cocaine and 53 packages of marijuana inside the cabin.[1] Agents also found 2.5 million colones and several mobile phones in the cabin.[1] They also seized three vehicles, including a medium cargo truck, all fitted with secret compartments for moving drugs.[1]

Colombia’s National Police said the same Cartago seizure, made through its Anti-Narcotics Directorate with DEA support and Costa Rica’s specialized anti-drugs unit, totalled 1,092 kilos of cocaine and 53 kilos of marijuana.[2] The investigation began with confidential information about a large load moving from the south of the country toward San Jose with an intermediate storehouse.[1] The agency described the cabin as part of a trafficking route used to hide and cool large stashes closer to the capital before moving them onward.[1] Colombia’s police presented the operation under its Esmeralda Plus strategy.[2] The same load was described as bound for international markets.[2] The police said the seizure cost traffickers more than USD 36.4 million and stopped millions of doses reaching buyers.[2]