No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeArchivePolice nab thieves who targeted tourists

Police nab thieves who targeted tourists

A joint operation executed by the Tourism Police and agents of the Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ) took down a ring of alleged thieves on a bus running the San José-La Fortuna de San Carlos route over the weekend, according to a report from the Public Security Ministry.

The three men, identified as Nicaraguan citizens with the last names Díaz, Martínez and López, all have criminal records, the report said. Díaz, 38, was wanted on aggravated robbery charges in Liberia, capital of the northwestern Guanacaste province, before his arrest, and both Martínez, 35, and López, 28, have been arrested more than 13 times each on robbery and other charges, the report said.

Police took down the group after two weeks of following the suspects. Since January, victims of theft on buses on that route have filed at least 11 incident reports, the statement said. Last weekend, agents boarded a bus on the thieves’ usual route, where they witnessed the suspects “manipulating the belongings of passengers.”

The suspects exited the bus at an intersection at Florencia de San Carlos. Police followed and detained the men, who carried a laptop computer, two banking tokens, scuba-diving equipment and various documentation belonging to a Norwegian tourist riding the bus with her husband. Police returned the woman’s documents.

Agents turned the three men and the evidence over to the Public Prosecutor’s Office in San Carlos. Martínez and López were each given one-month preventive detention, while Díaz was released, the report said.

Trending Now

Costa Rica’s Top Court Bans President Chaves from 2026 Election Campaign

Costa Rica’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal on Thursday barred President Rodrigo Chaves from participating in the 2026 election campaign, ruling that he "illegitimately used" his...

Retired Nicaraguan Army Captain Sentenced to 50 Years for Treason

A retired military officer was sentenced to 50 years in prison in Nicaragua for the crime of "treason against the homeland," his family denounced...

Climate Change in Costa Rica Devastates Coffee Farms in Los Santos

In Costa Rica’s Los Santos region, famous for producing nearly half the country’s coffee, farmers are reeling from heavy losses driven by wild weather....

Costa Rica Green Hotels Lead Global Sustainable Tourism

Costa Rica’s reputation as a leader in sustainable tourism grows stronger every year, with our green hotels setting a high bar for eco-conscious hospitality...

Life After MS-13 in El Salvador as Residents Seek a Fragile Peace

Esperanza Martinez lost three relatives who were murdered and saw numerous bodies left in the streets of her neighborhood, a former stronghold of the...

Costa Rica’s Piangua Mollusk Threatened by Pineapple Farm Runoff

Costa Rica’s Térraba-Sierpe National Wetland, a 33,000-hectare haven of mangroves and rivers, is under siege from an unlikely source: pineapple farms. A study by...
Avatar
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica