Costa Rican authorities yesterday reported the discovery at the Pacific port of Caldera of 1.3 tons of cocaine in a container hailing from Buenaventura, Colombia.

Costa Rican security minister Gustavo Mata said Monday at a press conference that the seizure occurred on Sunday during a routine container inspection, and that it is the first time that drug has been found at the Caldera port in the Puntarenas province.

“In a container that we were able to review, and which was carrying soap and body lotions, a significant amount of packages were found that totaled 1.3 tons of cocaine,” said Mata.

The minister stressed that this operation is part of, “the regular inspection and control work carried out by the Drug Control Police (PCD) at the country’s ports,” and that it is “the first load of cocaine that has been detected at this port.”

Mata confirmed that the container was shipped from Buenaventura, Colombia.

So far there are no people arrested in connection with the illegal drug shipment, and the police have begun investigations to determine who was intended to receive the products of the container in Costa Rica.

The minister commented that this container is an example of how international drug organizations are diversifying the routes and the ways they ship drugs.

With this latest snatch, Costa Rican authorities have accumulated a total of 18.7 tons of cocaine seized so far in 2017.

At the end of July. police reported having seized 9.4 tons of cocaine during the first 6 months of the year.