



The gang was dedicated to the illicit trafficking of immigrants, from Africa, Asia, Cuba and Haiti

/ Ministry of Security courtesy photo.





A Ministry of Health employee detained with

36 others suspected of human trafficking







By the A.M. Costa Rica staff



On Tuesday, immigration officers together with the prosecutor's office against human Trafficking and with the support of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 36 people on suspicion of being members of a gang of illegal immigrant trafficking.



According to the prosecutor's report, the gang had two centers of operation, one in the northern zone of the country, near the border with Nicaragua and the other in the south near the border with Panamá.



Agents reported that among the 36 detainees three could be gang leaders from the northern center of operations. Their surnames are López, Hernández, and Murillo.



Murillo is an employee of the Ministry of Health, said the agency in its report.



Agents also arrested two possible leaders from the southern zone gang, with the surnames Ruíz and Bejarano.



"This criminal organization is dedicated to the illicit trafficking of migrants, from the southern zone to the northern zone, trafficking people from Africa, Asia, Cuba and Haiti," said the Directorate General of Immigration in its statement. " Immigrants crossed the country intending to reach the United States."



According to the agents' report, the investigation began in January 2018, after they received information about a human trafficking network. During the first operation, ten suspects were arrested belonging to the same gang.



"The gang charged sums of money between $7,000 and up to $20,000 USD, depending on the migrant's country of origin, or the profile of the foreign person," said the agency in its statement.



According to the investigation, migrants arrived in Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, or Peru by air. Then, the gang working in Costa Rica, contacted them to transport them into the country.



"Once they entered the country illegally, (referring to the migrants) they were transferred to Liberia*, (in the province of Guanacaste), by bus. To move people from the southern border to the northern border," said the agency in its statement.



Apparently, when the migrants arrived in the north, they were received by other gang members, and then transferred to local houses, where they were kept until leaving the country.



The migrants were transported "by sea from Puerto Soley or El Morro Beach in Costa Rica to Honduras," agents said. "And by land to Guatemala, where they were handed over to other gang members in those countries."



Officers from the Fiscal Control Police, Drug Control Police, Border Police, Air Surveillance Service, Ministry of Security and the Judicial Investigation Organization were all part of this operation.



At the same time, Panamanian authorities executed 21 raids in Panamá City and in the province of Chiriquí. Ten of the gang members arrested had ties to the gang located in Costa Rica.



The 36 people accused were taken to the public ministry to be interviewed by authorities. They must remain in custody until a judge determines if there are any pre-trial measures against them.













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