The criminal group included traffic officers and officials from other agencies, as well as a nurse from the Costa Rican Social Security Fund and a member of the Ministry of Public Security. Four other traffic officers and six other persons linked to the ring are currently facing trial.

Those sentenced received an additional 12-year ban from public office, according to the newspaper CR.com.

The criminal cell of the drug lord known as “Diablo,” the country’s main fugitive from justice, operated in the Northern Zone and consisted of at least 16 members. They were arrested in December 2023. They used at least two tourist centers to store drugs and hideouts.

The events occurred between June 1, 2018, and October 12, 2022, when the suspects formed a criminal gang responsible for the sale, transportation, storage, distribution, and marketing of cocaine, marijuana, and the drugs known as MDMA, ecstasy, and XTC. They also murdered a man named Vallejos on May 17 in Santa Gertrudis, in the province of Alajuela.

The drug trafficking gang was in possession of firearms and was also trading them.

Traffic officers in the town of La Fortuna, Guanacaste province, allegedly misused official equipment to support the drug gang.

The growing increase in drug trafficking and its consequences in the country has long been the subject of criticism from legislators, community leaders, unions, and regulatory bodies such as the Comptroller General Office, the Ombudsman’s Office, as well as representatives of international and non-governmental organizations.

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