Cell Phones Hot Target for Thieves

While more than 100,000 cell phones were reported stolen between January and November 2005, police in Costa Rica have yet to take the crime seriously, according to the daily La Nación.

The Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ) does not keep statistics on how many cell phones have been stolen, but the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), which has a monopoly on telecommunication services in Costa Rica, does.

ICE records show that 102,452 cell phones were reported stolen in the first 11 months of 2005 nearly 10% of the country s 1.1 million active cell phone lines.

Users can report cell phone theft at any one of ICE s 60 offices or by dialing 193.