OVERVIEW

Treatment of consumption

Government institutions:

The year 2016 showed a decrease in the number of patients except those included in the range of 19 to 25 years although total attention increased over the previous year given the average of attentions per patient increased. Alcohol continues to be the main substance for which assistance is sought. Attentions in government agencies are substantially outpatient.

Non-governmental organizations:

Attentions in these organizations increased 14.8% over the previous year mainly by the increase in the number of available beds which grew 23.3%.

Attentions in NGOs are mainly due to problems with alcohol which covers 50% of the patients followed by the crack and cannabis together add up 87% of the benefits provided. The majority of patients in these entities are characterized by low education and unemployment problems.

Crops

Crops destroyed in 2016 increased for the second year to be Talamanca and bear the main two cantons of fields. According to the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report 2017, of the Department of State of the United States, Costa Rica leads regional seizures and destruction of marijuana plants.

Drug trafficking

Marijuana: seizures and kilograms of marijuana from the year 2016 finds increased 90 percent over the previous year. 90% of these kilos were seized in the Atlantic coast and in the province of Limón, whose central canton is where more seizures were followed by Alajuela and Cartago. 92.4% of the events of this drug seizures are less than 5 grams.

Cocaine: kilograms of cocaine seizures increased by 36.5% in the year of this study this despite the decrease in the amount of drugs seized in the framework of USA joint patrols. Puntarenas and the Pacific coast is where more kilos were seized. In 93.1% of the events where this drug seized it does not add more than 5 grams.

Crack: Seizures of crack of the 2015 grew 24.5% being San Jose and Alajuela provinces where more this substance seized. Like other drugs, more than 90% of the occasions in which the substance seized more than 5 grams.

Other drugs: with respect to data of the 2014, 2015 a significant increase there was in seizures of heroin (797%), ecstasy (67%) and LSD (251%). Although globally, in absolute terms, are still much smaller numbers in comparison to seizures of cocaine, crack and marijuana.

Borders: The arrests of drug at the border crossings of Peñas Blancas and Paso Canoas are mainly cocaine and declined during the year 2016.

Airport Juan Santamaría: Seizures of cocaine and marijuana are those who predominate in this port, being the most common form of hiding drug packages/Courier.

Sentenced: 1223 people were sentenced in 2016 being that the tendency of the number of persons prosecuted behaviour has remained constant over the past six years while the proportion of women increased by 6 percentage points to 2015 with the 83% of the sentenced were males and 17% women. 70.7% of convicted persons are between 20 and 39 years.

Laundering

The ICD received 236 reports of suspicious transactions (ROS) in 2016, which meant an increase of 8.3% in relation to the previous year. Banks were responsible for 78% of those reports. In the year of this study the DCI moved to Ministry public 56 cases to be investigated of which 8 led to the opening of a file.

The dismissal is the reason why more cases are completed in the Deputy Prosecutor's Office of capital legitimization. During the year 2016, 23 people were condemned by laundering which is the highest amount which is denoted in the fall time series from 2010 to 2016.

Chemical precursors

Costa Rica does not produce raw materials of international control, so it is supplied of them through import from different origins and, thanks to the free trade agreements, opening new markets and new trade routes, has diversified the source of these substances. During the 2016 was not detected any case of illicit trafficking or diversions of precursors through the national territory but 17 administrative sanctions by the irregular handling of these substances were imposed.

Recovery and management asset

It is clear that a stroke of rudder in government policies in this area is necessary, integrating efforts and refocusing the work of the criminal supervisory bodies involved, to make effective the fight against this phenomenon without borders and terribly powerful. The central work of the organs of criminal control should be oriented towards confiscation, seizure, kidnapping of the criminal heritage, especially of the moneys that have entered the banking system, this is them subtract the force that virtually holds Vivas collateral activities of the criminal group.