Costa Rican officials detain 23 undocumented migrants near Panama border

Costa Rican National Police officers conducting a routine patrol at 3 a.m. on Monday detained a group of 23 undocumented migrants – 19 of them from Nepal – while attempting to enter the country from Panama. Of the remaining four, two are from Ghana and two are from Sri Lanka. One man fled the scene.

According to an official report, police encountered the group of men walking along a road in the border community of Paso Canoas, near a customs checkpoint.

The group was sent to a local Immigration Administration office for further investigation, according to the Public Security Ministry.

Costa Rican police and immigration officials in October told The Tico Times they had noted an increase in the number of Asian migrants traveling though Costa Rica on their way north.

Prior to Monday’s arrest, Immigration Administration records indicate that 54 Nepalese, one Pakistani and three Bangladeshi migrants were arrested while trying to enter the country.