Costa Rican police on Wednesday arrested 14 suspects when they busted a drug-running ring linked to Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, the network formerly run by jailed kingpin Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman, officials said.
Police busts narco ring linked to Mexican kingpin
A plane allegedly used by the ring crashed in northwestern Costa Rica with 250 kilograms of cocaine and $45,000 on board.
Costa Rican police arrested 14 suspects in a narco ring, which is linked to kingpin Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman on November 9, 2016
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The suspects were arrested in two dozen raids, adding to 10 others already taken into custody over the course of the investigation, Security Minister Gustavo Mata said in a news conference alongside President Luis Guillermo Solis.
Since 2014, police have seized three tonnes of cocaine and $1.7 million from the organization, which smuggled drugs by land, sea and air from Ecuador and Colombia mainly to Mexico, he said.
Solis called the operation a "fundamental blow" to the gang, which he said owned a large number of properties, vehicles, boats and other assets.
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In April a plane allegedly used by the ring crashed in northwestern Costa Rica with 250 kilograms of cocaine and $45,000 on board. The two occupants, both Mexicans, were killed.
Last week, police raided a farm belonging to the suspected members of the organization and found 432 kilograms of cocaine and $1.6 million dollars in cash.
Central American nations including Costa Rica serve as transit points for narcotics smuggled from South America to Mexico and on to the United States.
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