Eight members of a gang that smuggled up to two tons of cocaine per month through Central America and into the United States were arrested by police in an operation targeting four cities in Colombia, officials said Sunday.

The gang’s unidentified leader was among those arrested, National Police Col. Gelber Cortes Rueda told reporters.

Investigators determined that the gang used speedboats to smuggle between one and two tons of cocaine monthly into the United States via Central America.

The gang had an alliance with the Clan Usuga, the biggest criminal organization formed following the demobilization of Colombia’s paramilitary groups in 2006, paying a “tax” on every shipment, Cortes Rueda said.

Record year for cocaine trafficking through Costa Rica

While welcome news for authorities, the arrests in Colombia are likely to barely put a dent in the amount of cocaine expected to be trafficked through Costa Rican and Central American waters this year, according to official estimates that indicate some 1,700 tons will be trafficked through just Costa Rican territory alone this year.

In just the last 10 days, Costa Rica’s Coast Guard have intercepted two large shipments of cocaine at sea.

On March 30th, the Costa Rican Coast Guard were able to seize 875 kilos of cocaine after a high-speed chase off the coast of Quepos, in Costa Rica’s central Pacific.

Days later, on April 4^th, two aircraft from Costa Rica’s Air Surveillance Service (SVA) were able to guide a Costa Rican Coast Guard vessel in recovering 607 kilos of cocaine that were spotted floating at sea, tied to a buoy in the Gulf of Nicoya, the Ministry of Public Security (MSP) said on Friday.

Costa Rica’s Ministry of Public Security (MSP) and Drug Control Police (PCD) are expecting a record level of cocaine trafficking through the country and its territorial waters this year, due in large part to increases in production in the source countries of Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia.

The MSP estimates that some 1,700 tons of cocaine will flow through Costa Rica and its territorial waters this year, a nearly 42 percent increase from the 1,200 tons estimated to have been trafficked through Costa Rican territory in 2015 and 2.5 times as much as the 670 tons believed to have been trafficked through the country in 2014.

Last year, Cost Rican authorities were able to seize just 15 tons – less than 1 percent – of the estimated 1,200 tons believed to have flown through the country’s territory.

EFE contributed to this report.