Nicaragua police seize 694 kg of cocaine on Pacific coast, no arrests made

Nicaraguan National Police have seized 694 kilograms of cocaine in the municipality of San Rafael del Sur, near the Pacific coast. The suspects linked to the large drug shipment managed to evade authorities, leaving behind a white pickup truck loaded with 578 rectangular packages of cocaine, concealed within 15 red sacks.

The incident began when police at a checkpoint in Diriamba noticed the suspicious pickup truck. The driver ignored the signal to stop and fled, prompting a pursuit. Later, authorities received information about the abandoned truck, which was found partially submerged in a culvert in San Rafael del Sur. Forensic analysis confirmed the substance as cocaine.

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Forensic experts conducted chemical analysis, concluding positive results for cocaine. Application of the Scintrex Trace technique (cocaine particle detector) on the gearshift, steering wheel, cabin, and seats of the occupied truck tested positive for cocaine.

According to police officials, the drugs were transported from Costa Rica to Nicaragua by sea, using two boats captained by Ervin Parrales Acosta and Edgar Antonio Mojica Parrales. They allegedly unloaded the cocaine on the coast of La Boquita. The drugs were then to be delivered to unidentified individuals for transport to Somotillo, a border town with Honduras, where they would be handed over to Honduran nationals.

Authorities identified Edwin Javier Ocón Ugarte as the suspect who rented the truck in Nicaragua, with Sixto René Valladares Canales reportedly handling the payments. The seized cocaine and the vehicle have been handed over for judicial processing. Nicaragua is strategically located along a major drug trafficking route from South America to North America, and the police are implementing a strategy called 'Muro de Contención' (Containment Wall) to combat the flow of drugs and related finances, maintaining cooperation with regional countries, the United States, Mexico, and Russia.

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The cocaine was transported from Costa Rica to Nicaragua by sea, through the Pacific Ocean, in two boats captained by Ervin Parrales Acosta, 35, and Edgar Antonio Mojica Parrales, 46, who unloaded the drug on the coasts of La Boquita, Diriamba municipality, Carazo province.