Agents from the Office of Judicial investigations (Spanish initials: OIJ) arrested various individuals reportedly involved in a marijuana smuggling run from the Caribbean region to the capital city of Costa Rica. Among the arrested was Veronica Ariza Anchia, a curvy model who is well-known in the popular lingerie show circuit in Costa Rica.

According to a news report filed by Daniel Chinchilla Salazar of daily tabloid Diario Extra, the events unfolded a couple of hours before dawn, one of the favorite times of the day for OIJ agents to carry out raids. In this case, the agents conducted a stakeout operation near a home in the Limoncito neighborhood, located in the Caribbean region of Costa Rica.

Six suspects boarded two motor vehicles loaded with 360 pounds of “high red” marijuana, a common cannabis strain in Costa Rica, which is often illicitly imported from Jamaica, although anti-narcotics agents have also destroyed high red plantations cultivated in the mountains of Talamanca.

OIJ agents allowed the two vehicles, a Honda Civic and a pick-up truck to get on Highway 3. As the agents expected, the suspects were bound for San Jose with their botanical cargo; a roadblock was established near the Venecia district of the Matina canton.

Miss Ariza was arrested along with her sister, who is pregnant, and her brother-in-law. Three other suspects were also taken into custody. All suspects were remanded to custody without bail for a period of three months. Miss Ariza and her sister were transported to the Buen Pastor (Good Shepherd) prison in San Jose.

According to archived news reports from the defunct sports daily Al Dia, Miss Ariza split her time between her native Caribbean and the northern suburbs of San Jose. She was very active in the bikini runway show circuit in Guapiles, where she often worked as a showgirl for the iconic Imperial beer brand.