Wrecked helicopter was on a drug flight north
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The security ministry has been hit with another scandal with the disclosure that a former aviation employee was piloting a helicopter containing at least 347 kilos of cocaine.
This is the aircraft that crashed Friday in a remote section near Cerro de la Muerte.
The pilot, Edgar Arguedas Alfaro, worked 15 years in the Servicio de Vigilancia Aérea of the security ministry until he went into private business three years ago, the ministry said.
Also killed in the crash was a Mexican national, identified by the security ministry as a photographer. It is clear now that the helicopter trip was not photographic.
There is uncertainty if the cocaine found in the wreck of the helicopter is related to the 320 kilos of cocaine taken by robbers from the prosecutor's officers in Golfito last month. The Ministerio de Gobernación, Policía y Seguridad Pública in the person of Janina del Vecchio, the minster, has denied responsibility even though guards at the courthouse were members of the Fuerza Pública.
The people who robbed the Golfito courthouse had intimate knowledge of police procedure. They lured away two of four officers by making a false domestic violence complaint.
There were rumors Sunday night that the rescue crews had found cocaine, but a ministry press liaison would not discuss the topic.
Ms. del Vecchio held a press conference Monday in which such declared her certainty that Costa Rica is not only being used as a land route for cocaine but also as a cocaine storage location.
The helicopter landed somewhere in the south. One report says on the Osa Peninsula. The heavily loaded craft was flying to Turrialba where the Mexican photographer owned a hotel, officials said.
They believe that the hotel is a storage location and linked the cocaine to one of the Mexican cartels.
The Bell 206 helicopter crashed among mature trees at an altitude of some 7,800 feet above sea level near La Georgina in the Cerro de la Muerte, the ministry said. Sunday they reported that rescue crews had just reached the wreck. But Ms. del Vecchio said Monday that some police and a resident reached the craft Friday, shortly after it went down. These were the people who discovered the drugs.
Ms. Del Vecchio said that police and judicial agents at the scene worked with utmost confidentiality to avoid surprises. She meant like the robbery in Golfito.
The exact amount of cocaine is unclear. The whole case is in the hands of the Judicial Investigating Agency. Ms. Del Vecchio would not say if she thought the cocaine came from the Golfito robbery.
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The security ministry has been hit with another scandal with the disclosure that a former aviation employee was piloting a helicopter containing at least 347 kilos of cocaine.
This is the aircraft that crashed Friday in a remote section near Cerro de la Muerte.
The pilot, Edgar Arguedas Alfaro, worked 15 years in the Servicio de Vigilancia Aérea of the security ministry until he went into private business three years ago, the ministry said.
Also killed in the crash was a Mexican national, identified by the security ministry as a photographer. It is clear now that the helicopter trip was not photographic.
There is uncertainty if the cocaine found in the wreck of the helicopter is related to the 320 kilos of cocaine taken by robbers from the prosecutor's officers in Golfito last month. The Ministerio de Gobernación, Policía y Seguridad Pública in the person of Janina del Vecchio, the minster, has denied responsibility even though guards at the courthouse were members of the Fuerza Pública.
The people who robbed the Golfito courthouse had intimate knowledge of police procedure. They lured away two of four officers by making a false domestic violence complaint.
There were rumors Sunday night that the rescue crews had found cocaine, but a ministry press liaison would not discuss the topic.
Ms. del Vecchio held a press conference Monday in which such declared her certainty that Costa Rica is not only being used as a land route for cocaine but also as a cocaine storage location.
The helicopter landed somewhere in the south. One report says on the Osa Peninsula. The heavily loaded craft was flying to Turrialba where the Mexican photographer owned a hotel, officials said.
They believe that the hotel is a storage location and linked the cocaine to one of the Mexican cartels.
The Bell 206 helicopter crashed among mature trees at an altitude of some 7,800 feet above sea level near La Georgina in the Cerro de la Muerte, the ministry said. Sunday they reported that rescue crews had just reached the wreck. But Ms. del Vecchio said Monday that some police and a resident reached the craft Friday, shortly after it went down. These were the people who discovered the drugs.
Ms. Del Vecchio said that police and judicial agents at the scene worked with utmost confidentiality to avoid surprises. She meant like the robbery in Golfito.
The exact amount of cocaine is unclear. The whole case is in the hands of the Judicial Investigating Agency. Ms. Del Vecchio would not say if she thought the cocaine came from the Golfito robbery.
