Panama Boarder with Costa Rica Two policemen face allegations of enaging in human trafficking at border

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff


Two Fuerza Pública officers are facing allegations that they helped smuggle Colombian women into the country.

The arrest of one policeman identified as Montoya Gómez was made by fellow officers at a control station in la Unión de Sabalito, said the Poder Judicial. Montoya was off duty but usually works at the control station himself, said the Ministerio de Gobernación, Policía y Seguridad Pública.

The ministry said Montoya was in a vehicle heading north from the border with Panamá when he was pulled over. He and the two women passengers fled into the brush but were captured, officers said.
Later, the Poder Judicial said that a second officer, identified by the last names of Mora Otoya was detained with the allegation that he was the one who actually helped the two women cross the border. The woman carried passports that did not have the appropriate entry stamps, said the Poder Judicial.

Two women also were detained. They were identified by the last names of Muñoz González and Fonseca Moya. They are facing allegations of assisting in the trafficking of persons.

The two Colombian women were identified by the last names of Vargas Olarte and Vásquez Zapata, said the ministry.