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SAN JOSE, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Costa Rican authorities announced Sunday that coast guard officers seized 420 kg of cocaine Saturday after receiving a warning from a U.S. radar plane.
The American aircraft spotted a "suspicious vessel" in the Pacific Ocean, and the Costa Rican coast guard intercepted it 12 miles (19 km) from the coast of Punta Burica near the border with Panama, according to a government statement.
The drugs were being transported by three Costa Ricans and hidden in a compartment covered by a tarpaulin, said the statement, adding that the three men were detained along with the shipment, the vessel and various equipment.
It revealed that the drugs were stamped with such insignia as "Poker," "RLX" and "PK," but did not provide more details on what these could mean.
The latest haul came just 24 hours after border police found 13 kg of cocaine in the same area of Punta Burica. A police squadron was carrying out a routine patrol when it found the drugs abandoned in a "strange package."
