Police Apologize for Surf Competition Drug Search

The National Police raided surfers from Australia and Uruguay Thursday in preparation for the weekend ISA World Masters Surfing Championship in Santa Catalina.

Local residents and merchants complained of an excessive show of police force, La Prensa reports.  Police say that they were tipped off to the presence of drugs in one of the hotels, but a search with anti-narcotic drugs did not turn up any illicit substances.  Police subsequently offered a public apology.

Ernesto Martinez, Governor of the Veraguas Province, said that he had nothing to do with the deployment of police forces and said the issue would be investigated.

“The idea is that everything goes well because it is a great opportunity for the country to promote tourism to many countries that are involved in this sport,” Martinez said.

Twenty-one national teams are represented at the August 27 to September 5 event in which surfers, 35 and older, are expected to catch a solid SSW swell.

Surfing Santa Catalina