Four foreigners arrested with half a million dollars in San José hotel room

Photo courtesy of the OIJ.

December 20^th, 2013 (InsideCostaRica.com) An anonymous call of suspicious activity led authorities to the Luz de Luna hotel in Barrio Escalante, San José yesterday, where authorities discovered four foreigners with more than $500,000 in cash.

Authorities took four suspects into custody, consisting of a Honduran couple in their 30’s, a Nicaraguan woman identified by the last name Peralta, 21 and her Guatemalan boyfriend, identified by the last name Cabral, 44.

Authorities indicated that all four had an irregular immigration status, but declined to disclose when and where they had entered the country.

Unofficial reports indicate the group may be associated with 10 helipads found this year in the mountains of San Carlos, Alajuela, and Limon.

The group was taken into custody on charges of money laundering and a hearing is expected this morning to provide preventive detention of the suspects.  Authorities also seized maps, communication equipment, cellular phones and a laptop computer from the hotel room.