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DEA
and FBI were in search of
López-Mendoza, for suspicion
of having links with drug
traffickers in Mexico.
/ Municipality of Escazú
courtesy photo.
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Judicial
agents detain fugitive
wanted by FBI and DEA
By the A.M. Costa Rica
staff
On Tuesday, agents of the
Judicial Investigation
Organization arrested a Costa
Rican man named López-Mendoza,
nicknamed M1, who was a fugitive
with an arrest warrant, for
alleged robbery and links with
narcos in Mexico.
According to the case, the
Prosecutor's office, the Drug
Enforcement Administration, DEA
and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, FBI, were in
search of López-Mendoza, for
suspicion of having links with
drug traffickers in Mexico.
On Tuesday afternoon, officers
were doing a routine operation
in the area of Escazú* in
the province of San Jose. During
that time, officials signaled
some cars to stop. One driver
ignored the order of the
officers, and instead ran away,
said the judicial agents in
their report.
"The officer requested
reinforcements from other police
officers who were in the area,
among these there were also
judicial agents," said the
agents in their statement.
Judicial agents managed to make
the car stop and then confirmed
the driver was Lopez-Mendoza,
who was traveling with at least
three more people.
According to the agents' report
in April, judicial agents were
informed about the alleged link
of López-Mendoza to a gang of
robbers, who called themselves
Revolutionary Organization of
Crime, knows as Moreco by its
acronym in Spanish.
This gang was related to
robberies in supermarkets and
ATMs. Also, investigations had
been carried out in
collaboration with the DEA and
FBI that linked them with
international drug trafficking.
On Tuesday, April 23rd, agents
of the narcotics section of the
Judicial Investigation
Organization made several raids
in the area of Grecia*, Orotina*,
and Guapiles*.
In those raids, the agents
reported the detention of seven
suspects who they believed of
belonged to the gang, however,
López-Mendoza escaped.
In August of last year, during
another raid in the area of Garabito*,
in Puntarenas, agents raided a
property of López-Mendoza where
the police confiscated more than
a thousand kilos of cocaine, 15
firearms including an AR-15
assault rifle.
According to the police report,
on Tuesday, López-Mendoza was
taken to the cells of the Public
Ministry, where he was
interviewed by the judicial
agents and should await the
order of a judge on the
pre-trial measures against him.
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What else could the
government do to track down drug
trafficking gangs? We would
like to know your thoughts on this
story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com
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