Costa Rica police seize 5 capybaras, crack cocaine and marijuana from fleeing vehicle

A capybara wades in water near an area recently scorched by wildfires at the Encontro das Aguas park in the Pantanal wetlands near Pocone, Mato Grosso state Brazil, Friday, Nov. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — Costa Rican police seized five capybaras, crack cocaine and marijuana after chasing down a fleeing vehicle on a highway along the Central American country’s Pacific coast on Thursday.

The large rodents are a semi-aquatic South American relative of the guinea pig and happen to be having a moment on social platforms. But they are not native to Costa Rica, and the Public Security Ministry said Thursday that possessing, transporting or trafficking them is illegal. The agency said it had never recorded another seizure of the animals.

Two men in the vehicle, who both had criminal records, were arrested.

“The police action was important and shows the concurrence where the drug world coincides with the introduction of non-native species,” Security Minister Mario Zamora said.

The capybaras were turned over to the National System of Conservation Areas to be evaluated by veterinarians. As a non-native species they can’t be released in Costa Rica so they will be taken to a refuge for environmental and conservation education programs.

The Associated Press