The Criminal Court of Aguirre, in Quepos, issued five months of preventive detention against two men named Arce and Santos. They were captured last Tuesday for the crime of migrant smuggling, known as coyotaje.
Subjects were arrested in a huge operation against human trafficking and migrant smuggling conducted by the Associate office of public prosecutor, taking place in several areas of the country. This operation had the support of the Immigration Police.
Both men are linked to an international criminal organization that smuggles migrants to the United States. They charge between 7,000 and 30,000 dollars.
During the raids, the police found in Santos’ house a foreign migrant, a resident with Costa Rican ID and money transaction documents. In Arces’ place, a weapon was found and some documents which explained in detail how many migrants had crossed the border.
The operation was carried out simultaneously in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Panama, under the name “Operación Internacional Mesoamérica’.