By the
A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Criminal Court of San José
ordered two months of prison as a
pre-trial preventive detention,
against a man surnamed Díaz
-Chinchilla, a 22-year-old Costa
Rican, who is suspected of being
part of the Canadian Akl brothers
gang, which was dedicated to lending
money and committing extortion
against their clients.
The judicial report states that Díaz
-Chinchilla left the country about
two years ago, however, an
immigration alert allowed to
judicial police to arrest him on
Thursday when he re-entered the
country through the Juan Santamaría
Airport* in the province of
Alajuela.
The Prosecutor's Office links Diaz
-Chinchilla to a criminal
organization run by Canadian
brothers surnamed Akl, who used to
lend money informally and then
extorted their clients to recover
the money.
Since November 23, 2018, three
members of Akl brothers’ gang have
been sentenced to prison, after the
Prosecutor demonstrated that they
were guilty of committing assault
and extortion inside a gym located
in Escazú* in
San José.
As A.M. Costa Rica reported on Nov.
26, 2018, a man surnamed Akl, a
Lebanon born Canadian citizen, age
44, was sentenced by the Court of
Pavas, to 12 years in prison for the
crimes of aggression, extortion,
robbery, deprivation of liberty,
simple homicide, and illicit
association.
The prosecutor reports that two more
men, one surnamed Pinnoch -
Campbell, and the other surnamed
Fernandez - Jiménez were sentenced
to jail with Akl for forming a gang
of at least 6 men who were dedicated
loan sharking and then extorting and
assaulting their clients.
|
The
investigations began
in May 2017, when
another man, surnamed
Akl and brother of the
one sentenced to jail
in 2018, was murdered
in Guachipelín,
Escazú.
According to the
security videos
obtained by the
investigators, the man
was shot to death by
two men who were
waiting for him
outside a school.
The day after the
murder, his brother
was captured at the Juan
Santamaría Airport*
when he tried to leave
the country.
In June 2017, Alk
tried to reach an
agreement with the
prosecutor where he
would accept his guilt
in several of the
crimes and have a
quicker trial.
However, the Criminal
Court of Pavas did not
accept the agreement
and ordered that the
continuity of the
criminal process be
maintained. That
process lasted one
year and 5 months.
The investigation
found that Alk, along
with three other men
and a woman formed a
criminal group
dedicated to providing
"informal loans,"
mainly to taxi
drivers, in the area
of Escazú*.
All of these events
occurred between July
3, 2016, and May 2017.
------------------
Have you heard of
informal money lenders
extorting
clients? We
would like to know
your thoughts on this
story. Send your
comments to: news@amcostarica.com
*Link
to reach the place
map.
|
