Published on Wednesday, June 26, 2024

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

On Tuesday, the Public Ministry conducted a judicial operation known as "Motherland" to arrest about 50 people accused of be members of a gang dedicated to property scamming, bus line fraud, and money laundering, which allowed them to earn millions of dollars.

According to the Judicial Investigation Organization's (OIJ) report, the case was designated as "Motherland" because the two alleged gang leaders are male Spanish citizens surnamed Leon (41) and Gomez (42).

According to Rándall Zúñiga, director of the OIJ,  both Spanish citizens are currently applying for residency status.  "The inquiry, which had been ongoing for two years and six months, revealed that we were in the presence of a criminal group responsible for a multimillion-dollar fraud," he added.

The operation achieved the arrest of the accused, who included two Spanish citizens, lawyers, traffic police officers, Ministry of Public Transport officials, Public Ministry officials, notaries, and others. It was carried out in collaboration with the Judicial Police and the Prosecutor's Office.

The inquiry into the scam began in 2021 when at least five traffic officials allegedly imposed fake fines on bus drivers and their companies.  The bus lines served the cantons of Tambor and San José in Alajuela province. Officers also issued phony tickets to busses and public transport companies on the Caldera Beach route in Puntarenas Province.

Zúñiga stated that fraudulent fines led to bus route businesses losing their agreement with the government. Other gang members allegedly took advantage of this scenario to obtain transportation agreements for the bus businesses they managed. The accused were able to clean up millions of dollars they made from other illegal businesses by operating a public transportation service.

In addition, the same gang is being investigated for possible property fraud.


According to the authorities, the second investigation found that the suspects were looking for specific large lands whose owners resided outside the country.


The suspects allegedly assessed real estate that met their needs and subsequently issued false transfer documents in the National Registration of Properties for those lands, taking advantage of the fact that the legitimate owners did not reside in Costa Rica.


After acquiring the properties, the gang sold them to others. This process enabled the new owner to legitimize the investment tied to money laundering. Authorities believe that at least three hundred large properties may have been stolen using this strategy.


The third line of the gang's inquiry is centered on the laundering of money by purchasing luxury vehicles, jewelry, and properties, among other assets.


To apprehend the suspects, judicial police raided around 40 houses in the provinces of Alajuela, Heredia, Cartago, San Jose, and Puntarenas.


At press time, officials had arrested 36 of the 50 suspects, including the gang's leaders.


The operation led to the confiscation of 38 vehicles, 13 buses, an AR-15 weapon, jewelry, computers, and documents, among other possessions that will be utilized as evidence in the investigation.


All of the suspects were transferred to the San José Public Ministry cells, where they waited for a judge to impose pretrial process measures for those charged with fraud.

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