Some years ago the police in Costa Rica had caught a pigeon that had attempted to smuggle drugs into prison, the famous bird was nick named the “narco-pigeon”, yesterday, penitentiary police caught a cat who was carrying a cell phone for “delivery” to an inmate. The feline had a bag tied around his neck in which he carried the mobile phone, charger and hands-free device. According to the off...

Officers of the National Coast Guard Service and the Frontier Police found 35 packets of cocaine hidden in a beach in Golfo Dulce, Osa, Puntarenas. Costa Rican authorities were alerted on Friday night by the Colombian police about a suspicious vessel that had left Colombia and was heading to the coast of Costa Rica. According to the Minister of Security, Gustavo Mata, the Coast Guard Service i...

(Photo: Walter Espinoza, Director of OIJ, Illustration Purposes Only) Soccer player Alexander Rodriguez Araya, who used to be part of the Grecia soccer team where he played as goalkeeper up until about four months ago, was detained today along with his brother and other 10 people all linked to a drug trafficking ring that apparently was part of the gang that used to be headed by "El Gringo", cr...

Sadly, the problem is not new, the area of Crucitas in the North Zone of Costa Rica continues to be exploited by illegal gold miners who have caused incredible environmental damage. The area has suffered environmental damages since 2012 as a result of a failed mining project; back then, the damages were estimated in close to 10 million dollars mainly as a result of logging. The presence of g...

A forensic audit carried out at he National Institute for the Promotion of Cooperatives (Instituto Nacional de Fomento Cooperativo-INFOCOOP) revealed that during the past 10 years this entity "lost" close to $80 million dollars due to the illegal handling of public funds destined to the financing of cooperatives. The audit was carried out in the finances from 2009 through 2016 by accounting firm K...

An 11 year-old Costa Rican girl who lives in the area of Sarapiquí, Heredia was taken to the hospital by her mother due to an abdominal pain; however, after being examined, doctors discovered she is 14 weeks pregnant. “The girl was brought to the emergency service by the mother to check on an abdominal pain, when she is being examined the mother suggests that she gets a pregnancy test and inde...

The two Island-class patrol boats of 110 feet that the United States donated to Costa Rica's Coast Guard Service finally left the Baltimore dock towards Puerto Caldera, Puntarenas, where they will be used to battle organized crime and drug trafficking, as well as in the protection of marine biodiversity and humanitarian actions. "It was a proud moment to see this vessels, named after our nation...

According to the 2017 Annual Report of the Judiciary Investigative Police (OIJ), a total of 4,747 reports of stolen cars were filed last year, for an average of 13 cars a day; this represents a 10% increase from the total of 2016. Thieves prefer the brands Hyundai (492 reports) and Toyota (478), but other brands such as Suzuki,Nissan, Mitsubishi, Honda, Isuzu, Geo and Chevrolet, are also common...

The United States Department of State through its International Narcotics Control Strategy Report 2018 makes a full analysis of Costa Rica’s situation when it comes to drug trafficking and the direct relation with the increase in homicides in the country. “Costa Rica’s strategic location, vast maritime territory, and the small size of its security forces combine to make it an attractive transi...

A Dutchman tried to enter Costa Rica through the Juan Santamaria Airport with methamphetamines hidden in the double lining of his suitcase. The 50-year-old man, of last names Caurbocia Peña, who apparently has no criminal record or pending criminal causes, flew in from Zurich, Switzerland and had a ticket to go back to this same destination on April 10. Methamphetamine is a stimulant drug tha...

The current traffic law in Costa Rica has been in effect since October 26th, 2012. The purpose of the regulation was to fix some big problems created by a former law approved in 2010, which contained outrageous fines and several evidentiary contradictions, which created a big mess affecting both administrative and court procedures. This does not mean the current law in effect is much better, so th...

Owen Hanson (Nicknamed O'Dog) seemed to have everything going for him, he was apparently brought up in a good home and eventually came to be part of the USC football team, however, Hanson’s greed apparently took over, and he became the leader of what was defined by the US Department of Justice as “a violent racketeering enterprise”. Back in December 2017, Hanson was sentenced to 255 months in ...

From January 1st through March 26th Costa Rica registers a total 145 homicides, 6 more than the number registered in the same period in 2017, according to statistics by the Judicial Investigative Police (OIJ). Alvaro Gonzalez, Chief of the Homicides Division from the Judicial Investigative Police, stated during a press conference, that the initial investigations determine that the majority of t...

Four Europeans, 3 native from the Netherlands and 1 from Belgium were detained Friday by Costa Rican authorities as suspects of extracting endemic miniature orchids from the Juan Castro Blanco National Park, located in the province of Alajuela between the counties of San Carlos, Zarcero and Rio Cuarto. In total 246 plans were extracted by the foreigners with the purpose of taking them to Europe...

Duron Harmon, the American football player who plays safety for the New England Patriots, was denied entry to Costa Rica after officers found marijuana in his luggage. The 27-year-old athlete attempted to enter the country through the Juan Santamaria Airport, but in a routine check airport police found in his luggage 58 grams of marijuana inside a can of iced tea; he was also carrying three pip...

The United States Department of State through its International Narcotics Control Strategy Report 2018 points to Costa Rica’s vulnerabilities when it comes to organized crime and money laundering. “Transnational criminal organizations continue to employ Costa Rica as a base for financial crimes due to limited enforcement capacity and its location on a key transit and operations route for narcot...

Costa Rican Christian Eduardo Villalobos Hernandez, 35-years-old, was indicted on January 25 by the United States District Court of Florida, on several mail fraud and money laundering charges. Villalobos is one of 20 people charged with offenses relating to their participation in various fraud schemes involving over $103 million. The victims of the fraud are mostly elderly US citizens “Th...

According to the Gender Observatory of the Judicial Power between 2007 and 2016 there were a total of 287 women murdered by men with which they had a romantic relationship; in 2017 there were a total of 26 femicides, and so far in 2018 there’s been 6 confirmed femicides, while 5 other cases remain in investigation and could make this number grow. “I express the solidarity of the Government with...

Costa Rica’s District Attorney Emilia Navas confirmed the detention this Wednesday, March 14 of five people in relation to the Cementazo corruption case, two employees of the company Sinocem and three managers of public bank Banco Popular. 11 raids were carried out by the police authorities in different areas of the country to gather evidence. “Since 6 a.m. this morning four houses were se...

Walter Espinoza, director of the Judicial Investigative Police (OIJ) explained that after conducting the necessary investigations regarding David Patey’s allegations that a police agent tried to sell him a confidential file, they were not able to determine who this person was. Espinoza explained that back in November 2017, he received a phone call on his cell phone from David Patey, who told hi...

11 Tourists were robbed while they were rafting in the area of Dos Montañas, in the Pacuare River at around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 10. Apparently the group stopped to have a snack when 3 men with their faces covered threatened the tourists with firearms and took all their valuables including cell phones, cameras, cash and passports. “Rafting companies usually make a stop in this area t...

During an interview in Channel’s 7’ Telenoticias, Emilia Navas, Ad interim district attorney, confirmed that the Public Ministry has had an open investigation since 2015 regarding U.S. businessmen David Patey and Michael Lawrence Brannon Hutson also known as "Scott Brannon". Patey a native of Utah, is well known in Costa Rica, as the president of one of the biggest soccer teams in the country, ...

On the International Women’s Day the walls of Catholic churches in San Jose, Costa Rica (La Merced, LA Soledad and Nuestra Señora de Barrio Luján) were vandalized with gender related messages and graffities done with spray paint during the evening hours. “Take your rosaries out of my ovaries” ; “Sexual Education Now”; “Sexist and Macho Church”, “My body is mine, I decide”, were just some of the...

According to statistics of the Judicial Investigative Organism, the province of Guanacaste in Costa Rica, went from 6.6 homicides for every 100,000 inhabitants in 2015 to 12.7 in 2017. This province and Alajuela were the two that experienced a highest increase in murders, in the case of Alajuela the rate went from 5.8 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2015 to 10.8 in 2017. The majority of the crime...

Dermis Hernandez, a 41 year-old Miami police officer was arrested by the FBI back in January 30th for allegedly participating in a Ponzi scheme involving fake investments in properties in Costa Rica. The cop was arrested while trying to flee to Costa Rica at the Fort Lauderdale International Airport. Hernandez , who is married to a Costa Rican national, was charged by complaint with a cons...

The vessel of Costa Rican flag and registered as a fishing boat was stopped in waters of the Atlantic Ocean in Costa Rica by Costa Rican authorities with assistance of the United States. Aboard the boat of name ¨Sea Phantom¨ authorities found a total of 1 ton, 228 kilograms and 782 grams of marijuana, in 54 packages which were counted by officials of the Ministry of Public Security, Drug Control...

This past February 7 Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney R. Andrew Murray of the Western District of North Carolina fount two United States citizens who resided in Costa Rica guilty for their roles in a $10 million telemarketing scheme that defrauded primarily elderly victims in the United States from call centers in Cost...

During the last few days all news media have been reporting that a man named Manuel Alvarez, a person originally from Spain and long-term resident in California, has been reported as "missing" in Costa Rica by his family. Apparently, he came into the country after being alerted that some properties he owned here had been transferred illegally by forging his signature; this with help of some crooke...

Thanks to the “Bloque Sur” (South Block)  the Costa Rican authorities were able to give two big hits to drug dealing operations with the help of the joint patrol operations from  the United States. The first case involved a total of 1,256 kilograms of cocaine seized at 188 nautical miles from Punta Burica which found aboard the vessel Cherokee II plates PQ8824 which operates as a fishing boat; ...

Officers of the Professional Migration Police and personnel from the Ministry of Work and the Social Security Service  (C.C.S.S.) found a total of 47 foreigners working under "irregular conditions" AKA Illegally in two companies hired by Coopesa a company dedicate to the repair and maintenance of air crafts. The group included natives from El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Venezuela who receiv...

Manuel Alvarez, the 74 year-old man native of Spain but a resident of San Francisco, California, who went missing in Costa Rica since February 2, is the owner of at least 17 properties in the country. “He used to own restaurants in San Francisco, California. He then started investing in real estate. He came here (to Costa Rica) to buy and sell properties and he fell in love. About 15 years ago ...

Costa Rican Drug Control Police (PCD) stopped a trailer truck close to the frontier with Nicaragua (Peñas Blancas) which was carrying USD $562,200.00 hidden in the front differential . The trailer truck was in route Guatemala-Costa Rica and was transporting cleaning products. “The detained driver of last names Soto de León, he is a 44-year-old Guatemalan who had a total of 58 packages with...

Mimo International Exports and Imports Inc. a Panama based company pleaded guilty to bribing Costa Rican soccer official Eduardo Li. According to the statement read in a Brooklyn court by attorney Barry Kingham, back in 2014 Mimo paid Eduardo Li, who was then the head of the Costa Rican Soccer Federation, the sum of U.S. $500,000.00 so that he would agree to sign a deal for a U.S. apparel compa...

Costa Rican company SmartSoft developed with the support of the Propyme Fund, the software “Dynamic Behavior Patterns” which detects and prevents fraud and money laundering and helps national and international financial institutions increase their security and protect their clients’ resources. “Dynamic Behavior Patterns” is the result of the project “Determination of dynamic behavioral patterns...

Authorities in Costa Rica are concerned as presence of Central America gang members “mareros” increases in the country. On February 20 a native from El Salvador was captured as a suspect of a robbery, he is allegedly a member of a “mara” (gang). From only 3 cases associated with maras in 2016 the number increased to 16 in 2017, according to official data by the Migratory Police. The members ...

Manuel Alvarez, a 74 year-old man native from Asturias, Spain was reported missing in Costa Rica by his family, who explained the man traveled to this country on January 10 after he had received a call alerting him of a possible fraud to sell properties he owned here. Alvarez, who has resided in San Francisco, California for many years, owns some properties in Costa Rica and visited the country...

The Pavas Criminal Court extended Ziad Akl's  preventive imprisonment for another three months. Ziad is the brother of Elias Akl, who was assassinated back in March 2017 outside a private school in Guachipelin, Escazu.  Ziad was arrested shortly after his brother’s death when he was trying to flee the country through the Juan Santamaria Airport, and was detained on separate charges of attempted mu...

Most expats and Ticos alike remember the infamous death of multi-millionaire hedge fund manager John Felix Bender in Florida de Baru in 2010, and the subsequent three trials of Bender's wife, Ann Patton Bender, for Intentional Homicide. The Bender case put the Southern Zone of Costa Rica in the international news spotlight, and its infamy was spread far and wide by extensive television coverage on...

Despite the efforts made by the Ministry of Public Security in Costa Rica the request for the immediate deportation of Lebanese Ziad Akl after he was released from preventive imprisonment last week by the Pavas Criminal Court was denied. The same court who set him free is preventing this from happening by accepting a request of temporary permanence in the country presented by Akl’s defense attorne...

Costa Rican police detained two agents of the Judicial Investigative Police (OIJ) as suspects of attempting to sell information on an ongoing investigation to a third party for an amount of U.S. $15,000.00. According to Walter Espinoza, director of OIJ, the suspects were part of the Police Unit of Recollection of the Office of Plans and Operations (OPO) of the OIJ and had more than 10 years of ...