Police made eight arrests this weekend thus breaking up two alleged groups of delinquents operating in the Jacó Beach area of Garabito, Puntarenas on Costa Rica’s central Pacific coast.

One group targeted focused on stealing cell phones, mainly in tourist areas and also apparently targeted tourists, and the other apparently was dedicated to breaking into vehicles. Both groups had Costa Rican and foreign members.

Thanks to a tip-off, four individuals were arrested Saturday afternoon on charges of car break-ins.

Two of the men, with surnames Valbuena and Rodriguez, were Colombian, and the other two Costa Rican: a man named Madrigal fourth and a woman named Castro.

A few hours later, Garabito police were alerted to another group whose members were allegedly stealing cell phones from tourists. The arrest of four men was carried out in Jacó after a tourist reported theft of his cell phone and cash to police.

Police located the four suspects, and when they checked their briefcases, they located 11 cell phones, a laptop, two radios and other electronic devices.

The detainees of are named Malespin and Ballestero -both Costa Ricans, Acuña – a Nicaraguan, and Ardel – a Turk. All were delivered to judicial authorities to continue with due process.

The Garabito Police Force carries out various strategies to combat crimes against people’s property, and in this way strengthen the security of tourists who visit this region of the country and the people who live there, said the Ministry of Public Security.