Three police officers arrested in immigrant trafficking sweep


Booking.com	Published Wednesday, February 26, 2020 Three police officers arrested in immigrant trafficking sweep By the A.M. Costa Rica staff Three police officers and eight more persons were detained Tuesday as alleged members of an immigrant trafficking ring, mainly bringing Cubans through the country on the way to the United States. The Prosecutor's Office against Trafficking in Persons and the Illicit Traffic in Migrants ordered the detentions. According to the Prosecutor's report, the three policemen are surnamed Martínez-Sánchez, Granados-Lacayo and Narváez-Delgado. The other eight alleged members of the gang, also detained, have the surnames Zepeda, Quirós-Campos, Ramos-Quirós, Carvajal-Duarte, Campos-Arias, Aguilar-Molina, Ríos-Miranda and Candanedo-Castillo. The alleged gang members were arrested after the immigration police made several raids in their homes in the provinces of Guanacaste and Puntarenas. According to the prosecutor, the case began last year, after officials receiving confidential information which indicated that these people operated in the southern zone of the country on the border with Panama. They alleged were bringing illegal immigrants to the country, said the Prosecutor's Office. According to the evidence collected by the prosecutor, the amount that this organization charged to the victims, the majority Cubans, for transit through the country was approximately $600 each. The migrants final destination was the United States, said the report. Under current U.S. policy, a holdover from the Cold War, Cubans who manage to reach the States by land are allowed to enter. According to the investigation, it is presumed that the immigrants arrived at the southern border, between Paso Canoas district and Panamá. Then members of the gang, picked them up and toke them to a place to stay in Costa Rica. Then, illegal immigrants were transported to Guanacaste, on the northern border with Nicaragua, where they could continued their journey to the United States. The eleven suspects were taken to the cells of the Public Ministry where they were interrogated by the judicial agents and after that, they must wait until a judge orders the pre-trial measures against them. The detention of a migrant trafficking suspect is frequently in Costa Rica. In January, officers of the Professional Migration Police detained a Nicaraguan citizen, surnamed Blandón-Zavala, in the Los Chiles district in Alajuela for the alleged crime of illegal trafficking of immigrants. According to the police report, Blandón-Zavala was arrested when he was managing the entry of eight illegal Nicaraguans. Police said that the immigrants were charged $175 for six adults and two minors, said the report. The suspect was arrested while he was driving his vehicle while transporting the immigrants. A judge at the Los Chiles court ordered three months of pre-trial detention against the suspect. In a similar case in December 2019, the immigration police, arrested eight people in the center of Los Chiles, as suspects of committing the crime of smuggling of immigrants. The six detainees, all Costa Ricans are surnamed Galeano-Díaz, two brothers Zamora-Miranda, Miranda-Cálix, Jarquín-Mena and González-Castro. Also were arrested two Nicaraguan surnames García-Acuña and Lizano-Téllez. According to the investigation, Galeano-Díaz was arrested in his home that is presumed to be used for housing and immigrants, said police at the time. In that place, the police found 10 illegal migrants, including two minors and one elderly adult. The case that began in October 2019, when was officials learned that foreigners were entering and staying illegally in the country. According to the investigation, the foreigners arrive in public buses from San José to Los Chiles at night. When they arrived at the bus terminal, they were contacted by the members of the gang to take them to Nicaragua. But also they were hiding in the home of Galeano -Jiménez. This to avoid being detected by the local police authorities, said the police in its report. According to the police report, the suspects charged approximately between $17 and $30, for the transfer of immigrants. A judge at the Los Chiles court ordered three months of pre-trial jail against the suspects. The agents of the Judicial Investigation Organization, called on the population to report any suspicion of immigrant trafficking, to the confidential line 800-8000-645, where there are bilinguals agents who can answer calls in English or Spanish. ------------------------ Have you heard about immigrant trafficking in your community? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com