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Published Monday, August 24, 2020
Pre-trial measures to 14 of 26 people
arrested on suspicion of illegal gold
trafficking to the United States
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Prosecutor Office of Legitimation of Capitals confirmed that it requested pre-trial measures to 14 of the 26 suspects of illegally extracting gold and sending shipments to the United States.
According to the Prosecutor, 12 people were arrested last week and released without precautionary measures, because they are linked to less serious illegal activities. Their cases are less serious, allowing them to proceed with their case without being in pre-trial jail.
The people arrested for this case last week were identified by the Prosecutor's Office as Costa Ricans and foreigners with the surnames: Rodríguez-Agüero, two people Agüero-Chaves, Vega-Sánchez, Santos -Soto, Lanzoni-Vindas, Lanzoni-Cerdas, Cerdas-Chacón, two people López, Espinoza- Pérez, Quesada-Vega, Peña-Bill, Zúñiga-Villalobos, Salín-Méndez, López-Marín, Morún-Picado, Morún-Naranjo, Segnini-Sabat, Alfaro-Sánchez, Vásquez- Blanco, two people Centeno- Condega, Miranda-Muñoz, Cerdas-Chacón, and González-Mendoza.
On Thursday of last week, the suspects' arrest took place when the Judicial Investigation Organization, OIJ, agents made 32 raids at the homes and workplaces of the suspects, such as farms, companies, places where gold was extracted, and places where the material was processed.
The raids were carried out in San Isidro, Santo Domingo, Guararí, Montelimar, San Pedro de Montes de Oca, Escazú, San Sebastián, Barrio Escalante, Pocosol, Coopevega, San Ramón, Abangares and Puerto Jiménez, the prosecutor's report said.
Judicial agents arrested 26 people, including 21 men and 5 women as suspects of committing the crimes of illegal mining, environmental and money laundering.
Agents also seized $134,393 in cash, ten vehicles, explosives, gold, drugs, firearms and important documentation for the investigation.
According to the judicial agents between 2018 and 2020, the suspects exported approximately 2,500 kilos of gold valued at $60 million to the United States.
However, that amount was calculated based on the values reported in the export customs documents. The Prosecutor is currently in the process of estimating the real amount paid by gold buyers.
The alleged illegal miners extracted gold from unauthorized mines that were open in the areas of Crucitas District in Alajuela Province, Abangares District in Guanacaste Province, and Corcovado National Park in Puntarenas Province, said the prosecutor.
The valuable mineral extracted was then handed over to people who were engaged in gold processing in clandestine places in Guanacaste Province. There, the gold was turned into bullion, then the gold was exported to the United States, other shipments were illegally transferred to Nicaragua.
The roles identified to the suspect's range from managing farms in Crucitas, obtaining the gold in the form of sediments, processing the gold, selling or storing gold in houses, making accounting and financial reports, among many others.
A group of suspects was in charge of financing the purchases of that material in exchange for some patrimonial benefit and provided false evidence as cattle sales. Another group of suspects was in charge of justifying in the banks the amounts of money they received as a result of money laundering.
Another group of suspects was in charge of processing gold and exporting the mineral through companies exporting directly from the Juan Santamaría International Airport. The export was made under the false justification that it was scrap gold, the prosecutor said.
Due to the closure of borders at the Juan Santamaría International Airport, as one of the measures to mitigate the pandemic, the suspects used other companies dedicated to the transport of merchandise abroad, to ensure the continuity of the export of gold and money laundering, the prosecutor said.
Another group of suspects gave financial and accounting advice. They used false invoices to give a legal appearance of the money obtained with the export of the gold.
An employee of the Ministry of Finance, is one of the suspects, who is allegedly in charge of advising other suspects on how to hide the illegal business.
Among other discoveries by investigators, they found that the chemical substances used for extracting the gold, such as mercury and cyanide, were sent to the Crucitas area from San José, by another group of suspects.
It is expected that the prosecutor announces the pre-trial measures for each suspect today.
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