Eleven Costa Rican police officers suspected of collaborating with drug traffickers will spend three months in preventive detention while investigations continue, the a judge ruled Friday.

A court in Heredia, north of San José, accepted prosecutors' motion to jail the officers.

Authorities say they suspect the 11 cops of peddling drugs, protecting traffickers and re-selling confiscated drugs.

Six months of investigations determined that the officers under scrutiny would often suspend their patrols in certain areas of Heredia so drug dealers could ply their trade.

Investigators also found that several of the officers would seize drugs from one trafficker and then sell the contraband to another dealer and that the suspect cops received payoffs from drug rings.

The head of the national police, Erick Lacayo, stated he would not tolerate corruption and told Costa Ricans he was working to keep the force honest, urging citizens to report instances of misconduct by police.