HomeNewsBriefDrug Raids Reveal Italian Mafia Presence in Costa Rica
BRIEF

Drug Raids Reveal Italian Mafia Presence in Costa Rica

COSTA RICA / 16 OCT 2015 BY ARRON DAUGHERTY EN

The recent bust of a cocaine smuggling operation has uncovered the presence of the Italian mafia in Costa Rica, putting pressure on authorities to respond. 

Costa Rican officials and Interpol agents from Rome recently carried out multiple raids of an international cocaine trafficking operation run by Italian mafia group 'Ndrangheta, reported CRHoy.

Authorities arrested five Costa Ricans and two Cubans in the raids. The group is accused of using two produce companies to disguise shipments of cocaine destined for Italy and the United States, La Prensa Libre said. 

"This certainly shows that the Italian mafia is here," said Chief Prosector Jorge Chavarria.

The busts are reportedly part of an investigation started by Italian officials earlier this year. Authorities believe 'Ndrangheta used a family-owned pizzeria in New York as an import and distribution point in the United States. Four suspects in the US, including the pizzeria's owner and two relatives, have been arrested. An additional 13 suspects have been captured in Italy, according to the Tico Times.

Authorities have linked the operation to at least five cocaine seizures, including a 3.5 ton shipment in the Dutch city of Rotterdam and a 40 kilo shipment in New York, which led officials to the Costa Rican-based operation. 

InSight Crime Analysis

The arrival of 'Ndrangheta in Costa Rica points to the increasing sophistication of the country's homegrown criminal networks, and their burgeoning role in the transnational drug trade. The Italian mafia has generally operated out of Latin American countries with a strong organized presence like ColombiaMexicoPanama and Peru

The growth of domestic and foreign organized crime networks has the potential to overwhelm Costa Rica, a nation with no standing army and that was once considered an oasis of peace compared to much of the rest of Central America.

SEE ALSO: Coverage of Costa Rica

In recognition of these dangers, earlier this week Public Security Minister Gustavo Mata reiterated the need for an investigative unit dedicated to fighting organized crime in the country. The deputy chief of the Public Ministry, Celso Gamboa, has also recently sounded the alarm, saying criminal groups have the country "on its knees and in a blood bath, to which Costa Rica has never been accustomed."

Indeed, it appears the rise of organized crime in Costa Rica has already had a major impact on public security. The country's homicide rate in 2015 is expected to push past the 10 per 100,000 inhabitants mark, a level the World Health Organization classifies as "pandemic." Officials say more than half of these murders are linked to organized crime and local criminal groups battling over the domestic drug market. 

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

ECUADOR / 7 OCT 2022

Any chance of peace between warring gangs in Ecuador appears to be defunct after another two massacres.

G9 / 20 MAY 2022

Less than a week after a vicious 12-day gang war rocked the northern communes of Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince, a…

COLOMBIA / 28 JUN 2021

Convulsed by nearly eight weeks of anti-government protests, the Colombian city of Cali has also experienced a terrible surge in…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Paraguay Election Coverage Draws Attention 

5 MAY 2023

InSight Crime looked at the various anti-organized crime policies proposed by the candidates in Paraguay’s presidential election, which was won on April 30 by Santiago Peña. Our pre-election coverage was cited…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in OAS, CARICOM Reports

28 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s work was cited nine times in a new report by the Organization of American States (OAS) titled “The Impact of Organized Crime on Women,…