Drug sales in Costa Rican prisons is a business that generates more than 797 million colones per year.
This is shown by drug confiscations in prisons during 2016. In total, 130 kilos of marijuana, 25 kilos of cocaine and 38,000 crack stones were seized.
The value of these confiscations exceeds 797 million colones, according to Guillermo Araya, Director of the Costa Rican Institute on Drugs (ICD).
This entity presented the report Confiscation of drugs in penitentiary centers. According to researcher Carlos García, there are 275 confiscations each month.
García said that during 2016 more than 2,000 people were involved in drug trafficking in prison, most of which (51%) takes place on weekends and involves 25-to-29-year-olds.
Authorities recalled that a 2015 study revealed that 87% of prisoners already had addiction problems before serving their sentences in jail.
La Reforma is the prison with more drug confiscation reports. However, including the amount of population in the ecuation, the report places the Zurquí Youth Training Center as the prison with the highest rate of confiscation.
ICD chief, Guillermo Araya, said the figures show constant seizures that prevented organized crime from getting more than a million dollars.