Ziad Akl brother of Elias Akl, the Lebanese man who was killed outside a private school in Guachipelin, Escazu, back in March 2017, and who had been in preventive custody on separate charges of attempted murder, extortion and kidnap after being arrested trying to flee the country at the Juan Santamaria International Airport, just hours after his brother had been killed, was released Friday. Ak...

Sadly, this is not the first time this happens, the Costa Rican Police (Fuerza Publica) and the Municipal Police found this Friday a hydroponic marijuana lab with 317 plants in a luxury house in Guachipelin, Escazu. The Police and Fire Department were alerted of an explosion that occurred in a house in the residential Pinares del Rio, when the authorities arrived they realized the explosion occ...

The United States Coast Guard Service intercepted this Wednesday around 200 miles from Punta Burica in the South Pacific of Costa Rica, a vessel carrying a load of 1,256 kilograms of cocaine. The boat is Costa Rican and the five crew members, all natives of the area were arrested and taken into custody to Golfito. According to Gustavo Mata, Minister of Security, this is the largest load of...

A couple was arrested as suspects of participating in at least 20 thefts that took place between June 2017 and February 2018 and where tourists were the main victims. The man of last name Caicedo and a native of Colombia and the woman, a Costa Rican of last name Centeno, would operate by puncturing the tires of the tourists’ vehicles and then showing up to offer help, at which point they would ...

The program Shelter City Costa Rica offers a Comprehensive Protection Center in the country for the temporary relocation of human right advocates of the Central American region whose lives are at risk. The initiative hopes to give and option for those human right advocates of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua who expose themselves in their day to day activities and have received t...

Gerardo Rios Mairena, the Costa Rican man who was arrested early February 2017, as the only suspect in the massacre of five university students January 19, 2017 in the city of Liberia, Guanacaste, was found guilty and sentenced to 216 years of jail. The sentence was dictated by the Liberia Tribunal Court by judges Guillermo Arce, Andrea Rodriguez and Kathy Abarca; the decision came after severa...

The foundation Insight Crime, which is dedicated to the study of organized crime in Latin America and the Caribbean published its yearly “InSight Crime’s 2017 Homicide Round-Up”, with the purpose of giving a snapshot of murder rates in the Latin America region. Murder rates are calculated by InSight Crime, based on the number of reported homicides and the country’s 2017 estimated population tot...

The Costa Rican Ministry of Security rejects the idea of legalizing marijuana in tourist areas, idea that was suggested by Mexico’s Tourism Secretary. Gustavo Mata, Minister of Security in Costa Rica was adamant about not agreeing with the idea of legalizing drugs in tourism zones, and was clear that these type of concessions “would only generate more and serious social problems as well as more...

The Costa Rican police received an alert through the 911 system regarding a dead man in the Del Rey Hotel, a known sexual tourism hot spot located in downtown San Jose. The Costa Rican Red Cross arrived first at the scene and confirmed the death of a foreigner, however, when the police arrived at the Del Rey, private security officers of the hotel tried to prevent the entry of the authorities; ...

The Costa Rican Ministry of Security had made the announcement some months back of the donation by United States of three tactical vehicles known in Costa Rica as “Bestias” to be used by Specialized Units. Today, in an official act with the presence of the director of the Judicial Investigation Organism, Walter Espinoza, Mariano Figueres, Director of Intelligence and Security and US Ambassador ...

This Tuesday evening the Drug Control Police (PCD) of the Ministry of Public Security, arrested a U.S. man entering Costa Rica through the Juan Santamaria Airport, originating from San Francisco, California with a load of marijuana extract in his luggage. The man of last name Trague is 24 years-old and was traveling from San Francisco through Houston with Costa Rica as his last stop, his retu...

A Canadian man and one of his workers are being investigated for the shooting of two Nicaraguan men outside the Banana Beach Bar in the beach town of Santa Teresa de Cobano, Puntarenas, as a result of the shooting one of the man died and the other was injured. According to the authorities, one of the Nicaraguan men worked as a security guard at the liquor store where the Canadian arrived to buy...

Officers of the Fiscal Control Police (PCF) and Treasury (Ministerio de Hacienda) seized fake shirts from the Costa Rica National Soccer Team that were for sale at three different stores at the Juan Santamaria Airport. Irving Malespín Muñoz, chief of the Fiscal Control Police, stated that the inspection was done with the help of specialized personnel that confirmed the articles were not origina...

The Judicial Investigation Organism (OIJ) in Costa Rica conducted a raid in the offices of the Costa Rican Train Institute (Incofer) to collect information and evidence regarding the accident where two loaded freight wagons detached and went out of control dragging a vehicle and causing the death of two people and leaving a third victim, a pedestrian, in critical condition. The police is inves...

The Costa Rica Ministry of Security launched the prevention campaign “Verano Seguro” or Safe Summer with the objective of bringing down the number of crimes and accidents in this vacation season. “The purpose of this campaign is that through different operations and actions we can offer national and foreign tourists more safety during their vacation time in the country, but at the same time we...

The Department of State recently made a new system available for US travelers to have access to security information on their travel destination. In the past the Department of State only issued travel warnings and advisories which informed travelers about any particular dangerous situations in the different countries; this new option provides safety and security information for every country in...

In 2017 Costa Rica closed the year with 602 homicides, 24 more than in 2016; unfortunately,2018 is not up to a good start since in just 9 days there’s been 17 homicides. When we compare the data from last year for the first 9 days of the year, there had been 15 murders. Michael Soto, Chief of the Plans and Operations Office of the Judicial Investigative Organism, stated that their goal this yea...

Masked men holding firearms stopped a tourism bus in the area known as La Platina, in La Pavona, Tortuguero and stole valuable items from the passengers aboard, a group of tourists from Germany and the United Kingdom. The incident occurred at around 11:20 a.m.  Sunday, January 7th . The items stolen included computers, cell phones, cameras and backpacks. The bus belongs to tour agency Aventu...

Costa Rican immigration authorities denied entry this Saturday, December 6 to a Canadian citizen who apparently is part of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. The man, of last name Gallant, was denied entry as he was doing immigration control at the Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia, Guanacaste and was sent home in the same flight in which he arrived. According to immigration auth...

A man was apprehended by Tourist Police in the center of Quepos, in the South Pacific of Costa Rica, when he was on the run with three backpacks he had stolen from a group of U.S. tourists. This was confirmed by Juan Carlos Salas, the local chief of the Tourist Police, who explained that as they were doing their routine rounds in the area they saw the suspect carrying three backpacks, they imme...

The Ministry of Security of Costa Rica has begun the process to purchase a King Air 250 aircraft with the purpose of having more tools and resources to combat drug trafficking and illegal fishing. At this time the country’s air surveillance depends on a US Lockheed P-3 Orion, a four-engine maritime surveillance aircraft. The acquisition will be done through a direct purchase to the United ...

Costa Rican police had two new cases of cocaine in the Pacific Coast, completing for this year more than 30 tons of this drug seized. The first case was reported by the Colombia National Police, which informed of a vessel possibly carrying illegal substances. The vessel by name CAP PATTON of Colombian Shipping & Marine Supplier Eduardo L. Gerlein S.A., navigating under Liberian Flag and wit...

James Wallace Kirgin also known as James David McDonald, one of the most wanted man by Costa Rican justice was detained this Thursday, December 28 in Guatemala City. The Guatemala National Civil Police confirmed the arrest which took place in Zona 1 in the capital city. 56-year-old Kirgin was wanted by the Interpol at the request of Costa Rica authorities accused of “committing sexual and e...

This Thursday the Costa Rica Drug Control Police detained another vessel carrying 706 Kg of cocaine in 15 packets, the boat was intercepted in waters of the South Pacific with 4 Colombian men on board. With this, the Ministry of Public Security reported that with just 3 days left in this 2017 they have already seized 29.8 tons of cocaine, in addition to 232,003 doses of crack, 238.18 Kg of mari...

As 2017 comes to an end Costa Rica will close with an alarming rate of 600+ homicides, at least 22 more than the total registered in 2016. 48% of the homicides that have been taking place obey to organized crime, confrontations between gangs to settle scores and win over specific territories. In 2012 the year finished with 407 homicides, in 2013 there were 411; 477 in 2014 and a year later 5...

The Costa Rica Drug Control Police seized a package with 1,045 grams of crystal methamphetamine, out of which an approximate 26,125 doses of ecstasy can be produced. The illegal substance was found in a package sent by DHL under aerial guide number CY68.357.899 7 and the information listed as sender was: Metre Outdoor Sport, Kettengtz. 20b, Germany, 63486, Bzu Khobez. The package was addresse...

Monday, December 25 in the waters of the Pacific 70 nautical miles from the entrance to the Gulf the Costa Rica Drug Control Police and the National Coast Guard Service found a cocaine cargo attached to a GPS buoy with the assistance from a US P-3 maritime surveillance aircraft. The drug cargo was taken to the Golfito Port, a total of 22 packets of 50 kilograms each and a smaller one, making a ...

Businessman Juan Carlos Bolaños, the main character in the “cementazo” case (china cement corruption scandal) left prison this Sunday morning where he is serving three months of preventive imprisonment to get knee surgery in a private clinic, confirmed the Costa Rica Ministry of Justice. Bolaños left prison at around 8 a.m. and was transferred to the Unibe Clinic in Tibas for a procedure that w...

Coordinated operations by the Costa Rica Coast Guard Service, the Aerial Surveillance Service and the Drug Control Police resulted in another hit to drug traffickers in waters of the South Pacific. A Costa Rican fishing boat was stopped carrying an important load of cocaine, an amount not yet quantified but estimated in close to one ton; the packets were hidden under a lot of ice in the storag...

Spanish police report that they have broken up one of the biggest drug trafficking operations in Europe, one that has been operating in Europe for forty or more years. How were they caught? Authorities tagged a suspicious shipment of Costa Rican pineapples, and discovered fruit loaded with cylinders coated with yellow-colored wax, made to look like pineapples. Eleven people were arrested in Malaga...

The story goes back to December 10, 2010, when Canadian citizen Belkis Depaulo (also known as Belkis Gonzalez Garcia) was stopped at the Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia, Guanacaste, Costa Rica as she was supposedly traveling to Brussels, Belgium; apparently the woman appeared nervous while going through airport security controls and when officers searched her luggage they found susp...

Costa Rica’s Ministry of Public Security announced they have invested in the purchase of four new vessels to help battle organized crime in Costa Rican waters. “With satisfaction we announce that the ships GC110-1 Libertador Juan Rafael Mora Porras and GC110-2 General Jose Maria Cañas Escamilla (both donated by the United States to the Costa Rica coast guard service) are already painted and ...

Photo Credit: NC11 Costa Rica A man, native from Wisconsin, USA, was detained by the Costa Rican police on Wednesday afternoon, accused of sexually abusing his step-daughter who has a mental disability. The foreigner was reported by his wife who is Costa Rican, apparently, the woman witnessed the moment in which the man committed the abuse, she immediately reported him and when the police d...

Costa Rica’s Ministry of Public Security confirmed that officers from Fuerza Pública conducted a raid in the district of Pavas, San Jose the afternoon of this Wednesay, December 20 with the objective of getting rid of drugs, illegal firearms and other items that represent a risk to the inhabitants and with the purpose of battling organized crime in this area. A total of 250 police officers with t...

The Legislative Commission that investigated the bank credits awarded to Juan Carlos Bolaños and his company SINOCEM in the cement corruption scandal in Costa Rica (cementazo) finally presented their report yesterday, recommending sanctions for 29 people, some belonging to the different government branches and others from two public banks. (Read here all about the Cementazo case) The first p...

Two hunters were arrested this Monday as suspects of killing several tapirs (Tapirus bairdii), an infringement to the Law of Conservation of Wildlife. After a detailed investigation that began in September this year, the two men, one 23 years-old of last names Valverde Esquivel and the other 43 years of age and of last names Valverde Ureña, were detained in their homes located in the areas of E...

The Costa Rica Frontier Police intercepted yesterday (December 17) in the South Caribbean a truck carrying highly dangerous illegal fireworks. According to the director of the Frontier Police, Commissioner Allan Obando, the officers found boxes containing 85,290 units of pyrotechnics, some which have the power to cause serious injuries and even kill someone. In Costa Rica, the Law of Weapons...

The dangerous criminal that the Costa Rican authorities were after and whose information was released just two days ago to the public, was found dead in Bajo Los Ledezma in La Uruca; the information was confirmed this Saturday morning by the Ministry of Security, pending the autopsy results. Irving Guido Toruño (A.K.A. Erwing Guido Toruño) of Nicaraguan origin and nicknamed “El Gringo” was ...

A Costa Rican woman of last names Mora Sibaja was arrested in Perez Zeledon, Costa Rica under charges of Human Trafficking and Human Smuggling. According to the investigation which began in 2016, the woman charged between US$8,000.00 to US$10,000.00 to smuggle people to the United States through different routes; Mora would receive 50% of the payment in Costa Rica and the balance was paid befor...

The Organism of Judicial Investigation (OIJ) released the information and photo of a man that according to their investigation is the leader of a drug trafficking gang related to the two dead bodies found this Wednesday in a van in La Sabana, among other crimes. The man (Photo included) is 32 years-old of Nicaraguan origin identified as Irving Alejandro Guido Toruño; according to the OIJ the s...