NCJ Number
204231
Date Published
December 2003
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This article examines the production, trafficking, and enforcement of illegal drugs and treatment of drug abuse in Costa Rica.
Abstract
Costa Rica is a transshipment and staging area for cocaine and South American heroin targeted for the United States as well as Europe. Drug traffickers use Costa Rica as a location to store and consolidate multi-hundred-kilogram cocaine shipments and to stage heroin shipments for smuggling. This report presents information on the cultivation and production of drugs in Costa Rica, drug seizures from 1998 to 2002, drug trafficking trends, drug abuse and prevention, money laundering and drugs, drug prices, counterdrug enforcement, and legislation, treaties, and conventions. Conclusions and projections drawn include: (1) Colombian trafficking groups will continue to use Costa Rica as a transshipment point for cocaine and South American heroin; (2) trafficking groups will continue to avoid law enforcement authorities by alternating smuggling routes and methods; (3) cocaine shipments of 150 kilograms or less will continue to enter Costa Rica overland from the Panamanian border; (4) Costa Rican society will continue to suffer from drug addiction, especially crack abuse; (5) cannabis cultivation will continue throughout the country; and (6) Costa Rica will continue to be an attractive vacation location for Europeans and U.S. citizens who may contribute to local MDMA abuse.