Costa Rica's coastguard has seized 2.3 tonnes of cocaine on a boat and arrested its four crew members, the security ministry said today.
The Costa Rican-flagged vessel was intercepted in the Pacific Ocean today. A search by police turned up the drugs in 164 packets.
The four arrested were three Nicaraguans and a Costa Rican, none of whom had a criminal record.
They risk up to 20 years in prison if convicted of drug smuggling.
Costa Rican authorities have seized nearly 10 tonnes of cocaine this year in various operations across the country, the ministry said.
On Tuesday, the coastguard seized one tonne of marijuana being transported in a fishing boat off its Caribbean coast.
Central America is the key through-point for drugs headed to the United States.
Last weekend, anti-narcotics police in Guatemala discovered more than two tonnes of cocaine hidden in two trucks in different parts of the country.
