Major gangsters who escaped the security forces dragnet in St James have made their way to Costa Rica, and it seems they have taken their bloody disputes to the streets of Limon, a port city on the Caribbean coast of the Central American country.

The gangsters reportedly fled Jamaica by boat and entered Costa Rica through its unguarded shore, which is washed by the Caribbean Sea.

A top-tier member of the Salt Spring, St James-based G City Gang, who was on the radar of the police, was last month fatally shot in Costa Rica. It is believe that the killing was sparked by a feud, which originated in the criminal underworld in Montego Bay.

The gangster, who went by the street name 'Ron Pablo Escobar', was peppered by bullets fired by men armed with AK47s, which, like in St James, is the weapon of choice among gangsters in Costa Rica.

Sunday Gleaner sources say the Jamaican gangsters are feared in the criminal underworld in Costa Rica, which is a premier drug trafficking route between Colombia, the Caribbean and the United States.

G CITY GANGSTERS' MOTTO

"De man dem say good food (money) can mek a Costa Rica, but the war ting a create a problem ... a nuff man [a get killed] down deh," said one source.

The G City gangsters, with their motto, "G City no pree pretty, kill and collect, smoke and forget, self-employed with a rifle and a handgun," have driven fear in the hearts of residents in many inner-city communities in Montego Bay, and the sources say they have already developed a reputation for brutality in Costa Rica

Assistant Commissioner of Police Ealan Powell, who is the Jamaica Constabulary Force's point man for the state of emergency in St James, told The Sunday Gleaner that they are fully aware that some gangsters have fled to Costa Rica.

According to Powell, the local police are also aware of the murder of Escobar in that country.

"This killing took place some three weeks ago," said Powell. "We are fully aware that some of these fellows fled the island and are now in Costa Rica doing their thing ... the usual criminal activities," added Powell.

He said the movement of Jamaican criminals to Costa Rica is an emerging trend that the local cops are scrutinising closely.

"When a man get hot (wanted by the police), him will run off to Costa Rica go cool out for a while. Everything that you see happening in Jamaica also goes on in Costa Rica," one source told The Sunday Gleaner.

"Scamming (lottery scamming), robbery, extortion, drugs, gunrunning, hitman work ... you just have to decide what you want to do," added the source as he pointed to the options open to the gangsters.

Based on investigations carried out by The Sunday Gleaner, it would appear that the authorities in Costa Rica have been aware that the country was being targeted by Jamaican gangsters, especially those with links to the drugs trade.

In 2009, Mario Zamora, then head of Immigration Administration in Costa Rica, announced new restrictions as a direct result of major crimes allegedly committed by thugs from Jamaica.

The action was sparked by the killing of the daughter of the Dominica Republic's ambassador to Costa Rica and a policeman. Four Jamaicans, who were reportedly held with two AK47s and a machine gun, were implicated in the killings.

Efforts to get a comment from the Costa Rican officials have so far been unsuccessful.

editorial@gleanerjm.com