The Drug Control Police (PCD) and the Judicial Investigation Department executed this Wednesday 23 raids in Puntarenas and Alajuela to dismantle an alleged international drug trafficking network led by Engler Araya Aguilar, a structure that, according to authorities, is linked to the seizure of approximately four tons of cocaine in three maritime operations in 2025.
During the first hours of the operation, 19 people were arrested, reported Stephen Madden, director of the PCD. The investigation also attributes to the group crimes of money laundering, local drug sales, and extortion through illegal loans known as “drop by drop.”
The case was named Turbo because a large part of the drugs left from the port of Turbo, in Antioquia, Colombia, as confirmed by the PCD. According to the investigation, speedboats loaded with cocaine departed from Colombia and other South American countries to supply fishing vessels in the Costa Rican Pacific, which then took the shipments to the United States and El Salvador.
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The proceedings began at 3:00 in sectors of Puntarenas such as Miramar, El Roble, Esparza, El Carmen, and El Cocal. Agents also carried out interventions in the center of Alajuela. The operation resulted in 19 arrests, and the investigation attributes crimes of money laundering, local drug sales, and extortion through “drop-by-drop” loans to the structure. Courtesy: MSP
The structure is linked to three maritime seizures in 2025
According to the authorities, the first case related to the organization occurred in April, when authorities in El Salvador intercepted the fishing vessel Río Bravo. In that operation, 11 people were arrested, including four Costa Ricans, and 1.25 tons of cocaine were seized along with several AR-15 type rifles.
The second seizure occurred in June on a vessel named Zona Cero. Authorities confiscated 1,850 kilos of cocaine and arrested four Costa Ricans who, according to the investigation, were operating under the guise of fake fishermen.
The third operation allowed for the seizure of 950 kilos of cocaine near Golfito and the arrest of three Costa Ricans. According to the authorities, all three cases are directly related to the structure investigated in the Turbo case.
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Authorities maintain that the group members posed as fishermen and used boats with hidden compartments, known as “caletas,” to hide the drugs before sending them to other countries. According to the PCD, this mechanism allowed them to move shipments along routes in the Costa Rican Pacific without raising immediate suspicion.
The Police seized 5 million colones and 279 packages of cocaine, 106 kilos of marijuana. Source: MSP
Authorities investigate a family-based network with high-value assets
According to the authorities, the alleged leader of the organization is Engler Araya Aguilar, who was already being held at the Terrazas Institutional Care Center for a case related to events that occurred in 2009. According to the investigation, he was convicted in 2015, although he did not enter the prison system until 2022.
This Wednesday, his wife, a woman with the last name Sirias, and one of his daughters were also arrested. Both resided in a home located in Miramar whose value is estimated to be around one million dollars, according to the investigation.
Authorities identify the alleged second-in-command as Michael Sánchez Arce, captured during the operations and pointed out as responsible for coordinating the logistics for the transport of the drugs. Along with him, his romantic partner was arrested, a woman with the surnames Medrano Quesada, 26 years old, daughter of the first deputy mayor of the central canton of Puntarenas, Adriana Quesada Mora.
According to the authorities, two Colombian citizens were also arrested in Alajuela for their alleged collaboration with the structure. The investigation describes the group as a network made up of family members and people of absolute trust of Araya Aguilar. Authorities seized four pistols, three long guns, ₡5,600,000 colones, six vehicles, a drone, and a boat. Source: MSP
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The Money Laundering Section of the OIJ is conducting a parallel financial investigation to track assets that may have been acquired with drug trafficking money. According to the investigations, the organization accumulated properties, farms, homes, and high-value vehicles, and those asset reports will be used by the Prosecutor’s Office to request the annotation and eventual seizure of those assets.
