Police officer faked robbery and kidnapping for 6 hours

SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA – September 28^th, 2012 – Over 40 police officers were involved in the search for a fellow police officer in the Leon XIII neighborhood, in Tibas, on Wednesday.

The mysterious disappearance of the officer caused police officers to launch a full-scale search, assuming the officer had been abducted.  The truth, however, was a bit different.

The officer, identified by the last name Serrano, pretended to be robbed and abducted in order to later appear without his weapon, his vest, and without his uniform. This comes according to the Ministry of Security after interrogating the officer.

It is not known if the officer intended to steal the items for himself, or if he had a buyer or accomplice who were to purchase the weapon and other police gear.

The officer disappeared while working a police roadblock in Leon XIII. After walking about 20 meters, his co-workers lost sight of him.

The search caused over 600,000 colones in expenses.

The officer has been suspended from his position and a process to terminate him has begun.