Fake Journalists on their way to Costa Rica carried over $9 million in cash

The Nicaraguan National Police Chief , Aminta Granera, informed today that the 18 Mexicans arrested in Nicaragua on Monday were carrying more than $9 million in cash. According to Granera, the final count of the money was $9,255,631. This amount of money was carried by a total of 18 people passing as Televisa journalists.

The funds were taken by the Nicaraguan Supreme Judicial Court and deposited in a bank. The arrested persons are under preventive detention.

Eighteen people are being investigated for identity impersonation, money laundering and possible links to drug trafficking. When they were stopped by the Nicaraguan authorities, they stated that they were journalists working for Televisa  (of Mexico) , and were on their way to Costa Rica for a series of articles. At first, they said the articles were about drug trafficking and money laundering, but they later changed their stories.

They were intercepted this past Monday when entering Nicaragua, and were coming from Honduras.

The names of the 18 arrested are: Raquel Alatorre Correa , Pablo Sossa Guerra, Rodolfo Jimenez Camacho, Alfonso Martinez Meras, Ivan Ricardo Cano Zuniga, Raul Alejandro Salinas Cervantes, Osvaldo Lopez Uribe, Juan Luis Torres Torres, Julio Cesar Alvarado Salas, Alfredo Omar Hernandez, Omar Jose Castillo Amaya, Salvador Guardado Nunez, Guillermo Villagomez Hernandez, Valentin Delgado Guillen, Juan Alfredo Rivera Vasquez, Iran Cesar Pacheco, Carlos Gustavo Reyes Arce and Cecilio Gutierrez. The Nicaraguan authorities suspect the names may be false, and as such INTERPOL is currently investigating them.