Officers of the National Police and the Fiscal Control Police at the community of Paso Canoas, next to the Panama border, on Thursday seized a shipment of liquor with an approximate value of ₡20 million (some $38,000) hidden inside a tanker.
At 6 a.m. on Tuesday, Judicial Investigation Police agents raided the home of Jorge Sibaja Rodríguez, a lawyer and member of the ruling Citizen Action Party. Police are investigating Sibaja's alleged use of forged documents to commit fraud against the Costa Rican Social Security System, or Caja, in April.
A joint operation of several police units last Sunday led to the seizure of 200,000 packs of cigarettes that entered the country without paying taxes through the Caribbean port of Limón.
Several large seizures recently have shed light on a trend of young fishermen without criminal records who are risking their freedom for quick cash by ferrying cocaine or assisting traffickers to move drugs north to the United States along the country’s Pacific coastline.
On Tuesday, the Judicial Investigation Police told The Tico Times that the U.S. tourist had not returned to La Fortuna to identify the four suspects, and without further evidence, police released the suspects later that day.
A spokeswoman for the Judicial Investigation Police confirmed to The Tico Times that security cameras and witnesses identified four suspects who were at a La Fortuna bar, El Establo, the last place where the victim was seen before the alleged rape took place early Sunday morning.
A 19-year-old woman from the U.S. state of Wisconsin was allegedly raped by seven men in La Fortuna de San Carlos, in the Northern Zone of the country, according to Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ).
Police arrested 17 Tuesday during the celebrations in Paseo Colón, where as many as 200,000 fans converged to welcome home the National Soccer Team, La Sele.
More than half the arrests involved domestic violence, despite a government campaign to curb a recent spike in domestic abuse complaints during the World Cup.
The Public Security Ministry (MSP) released a statement Saturday evening reporting that Red Cross responders attended to three victims from a fight that broke out in the capital's Plaza de la Democracia. Two victims were injured from a stabbing and a third who was hit with a bottle.
