A would-be trafficker of religious effigies in Costa Rica is now behind bars thanks to the quick reaction of Fuerza Publica officers.

Earlier this week, a man broke the sanctity of a Catholic church in Ciudad Colon and made off with an effigy of the Holy Virgin of the Ascension. The sacrilegious thief, who at the time probably did not fear heavenly wrath, ran away from the house of worship and headed towards the center of town.

Members of the Fuerza Publica detachment in the Mora canton were alerted to the crime and immediately searched for the suspect. They caught him fleeing on foot near downtown Ciudad Colon. Upon confiscating the Holy Virgin of the Ascension from the chapel raider, officers took him to a detention center rather than a precinct to be duly charged since he was caught in flagrante delicto.

The effigy of the Holy Virgin of the Ascension has been in that Ciudad Colon parish for many years. It is an antiquity valued at about $400, and it is highly regarded by parishioners as a holy maternal protector of the neighborhood. According to Diario Extra, the effigy would probably not fetch too much on the pawn shop circuit, even with knowledge of provenance, but it would have been a demoralizing loss to the community.

Criminals and religious imagery have an uneasy history. Drug smugglers in Latin America have used religious sculptures in the past to try to fool law enforcement and custom agents who might feel uneasy about checking the insides of effigies they have been raised to respect.

In Italy last year, carabinieri raided the luxury mansion of Francesco Casillo, an alleged capo in the Camorra crime family in Naples. Upon arriving to the residence, the policemen were surprised by a swimming pool surrounded by religious statues -including one of the Sacred Heart.

Source: Fuerza Publica