Costa Rica Seizes 103 Cocaine Bundles After Boat Chase
SECURITY · COSTA RICA
Key Facts
- —The country Costa Rica has no army. Its Border Police, Coast Guard and drug police all sit under the civilian Public Security Ministry (MSP).
- —Why it matters The ministry says the load may exceed three tonnes of cocaine, landed on a Pacific coast used by traffickers moving drugs north.
- —Why now The chase began before dawn on Sunday 11 October, and the count of packages was still under way on Sunday evening.
- —What happened Border Police chased a boat between Punta Mala and the Coronado estuary. The crew fled into the mangroves, leaving 103 bundles of suspected cocaine.
- —What it means for you No change to travel or safety advice has been announced. Boat tours from Sierpe were not reported as affected.
- —Still open The final weight, the boat’s origin, the identity of the crew and whether other vessels were involved.
Costa Rica’s Border Police seized a boat carrying 103 bundles of suspected cocaine on Sunday 11 October, after a pre-dawn chase through the Térraba-Sierpe wetland on the south Pacific coast. The Public Security Ministry estimates this Costa Rica cocaine seizure could exceed three tonnes once the packages are weighed. For readers in the United States, it is a reminder that the sea lanes off Central America remain a working route for cocaine heading north.
The crew escaped. Police were still searching the mangroves on Sunday night, and no arrests had been announced.
How the Chase Unfolded
According to a statement from the Public Security Ministry (MSP), quoted by La Nación and Teletica, the operation began in the early hours of Sunday. Officers of the Border Police, the MSP unit that guards Costa Rica’s borders, spotted a suspicious boat.
The Border Police keep a post inside the Térraba-Sierpe wetland. Officers pursued the boat between Punta Mala and the Coronado estuary, a stretch of coast laced with mangrove channels.
Under pressure from the police, the occupants steered the boat into one of the channels. They then abandoned it and fled on foot into the vegetation.
The Border Police contacted the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Prosecutors handed the inspection of the boat to the Drug Control Police (PCD), the ministry’s specialist anti-narcotics unit. PCD officers counted 103 bundles of what they described as apparent cocaine.
The ministry said the count of individual packages was continuing. It said the total could pass three tonnes. That figure is an estimate, not a weighed result.
Bugs Bunny and Rolex Wrappers
Diario Extra, a San José daily, reported that the drug blocks were sealed in protective plastic printed with Warner Bros. graphics. Some showed Bugs Bunny. Others carried the crown logo of the watchmaker Rolex.
Nothing in the authorities’ account links either company to the shipment.
The authorities have not said what the markings mean in this case. Any link to a specific trafficking group would come from the prosecutors’ investigation, which has only just begun.
Why the Wetland Draws Smugglers
Térraba-Sierpe is a vast mangrove system in Puntarenas province, where the Térraba and Sierpe rivers meet the Pacific. Its maze of channels is hard to patrol, and small fast boats can hide there.
It is not the first time police have found drugs there. In June 2025, Teletica and Diario Extra reported a seizure of more than a tonne of drugs in the same wetland.
For background, see our reports Costa Rica Extradites Five Men to US on Drug Charges and How Costa Rica’s Peaceful Image Became a Cocaine Highway.
What It Means for You
For travellers, the practical effect is small. The town of Sierpe is a common starting point for boat trips to Drake Bay and the Osa Peninsula. No authority has announced closures or new warnings for the area.
The police search for the crew continued in the wetland’s mangrove channels on Sunday night. Visitors should follow instructions from local police and tour operators if they meet checkpoints.
For people following US policy, the Costa Rica cocaine seizure feeds a familiar debate. Washington wants transit countries to stop more drugs before they reach North America. Each large interception strengthens San José’s case that it is doing its share.
The flip side is plain. A load of this size moving along the coast shows that trafficking networks still have the money and boats to try.
What Is Not Known
The final weight and purity of the drug are not yet known. The three-tonne figure is the ministry’s early estimate.
The authorities have not said where the boat came from, where it was heading, or how many people were on board. No suspects had been named or detained by Sunday night.
Police said they could not rule out that other boats helped move the cargo. Whether any foreign agency took part has not been reported. Any suspect detained later would be presumed innocent until a court rules.
Until the weighing is done, the haul should be read as large but provisional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where did the Costa Rica cocaine seizure happen?
In the Térraba-Sierpe wetland on Costa Rica’s south Pacific coast, after a chase between Punta Mala and the Coronado estuary on Sunday 11 October.
How much cocaine was seized?
Police counted 103 bundles of suspected cocaine. The Public Security Ministry estimates the total could exceed three tonnes, but the load had not been fully weighed.
Was anyone arrested?
No arrests had been announced by Sunday night. The crew abandoned the boat and fled into the mangroves, and a police search continued.
Sources: Ministerio de Seguridad Pública statement as reported by La Nación and Teletica; Diario Extra.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief