Ziad Akl, a 45-year-old Canadian-Lebanese, admitted creating a criminal group to lend money at exorbitant rates, and in case of non-compliance, the debtors were subjected to beatings, torture, and robbery.
Akl, whose brother Elías was murdered in May 2017 in Guachipelín de Escazú, accepted the crimes and resorted to an abbreviated process. Thus, he is exposed to a sentence of 23 years in prison that would be confirmed by the Criminal Court of Pavas in the coming days.
According to the Office of Drug trafficking and Related Crimes, the Akl brothers -along with other subjects – managed the criminal structure in Guachipelín de Escazú with informal taxi drivers as their main clients.
The authorities determined that between 2016 and 2017, the Akl brothers committed crimes of attempted homicide, extortion, kidnap, aggravated robbery, serious injuries, and illicit association. Ziad, with a striking tattoo on his face, was in charge of extorting, intimidating and beating the debtors.
Some of those beatings, perpetrated with golf clubs, were done in a gym located in Guachipelín, which was rented by the foreigners.
The investigation determined that about 200 people got loans from these subjects. The clients, in their majority are from Escazú, Santa Ana, La Sabana, and outskirts. The Akl and their ganf provided facilities and asked few requirements to obtain the money. The client should have an informal guarantor, who would ultimately answer if the debt was not canceled.
If the debtors or the guarantor were late, the gang would sent a bully, sometimes Ziad. The amounts that the Akl offered ranged from $2 thousand, $5 thousand and $20 thousand.
Ziad Akl, arrested in May 2017, when he tried to leave the country after the crime of his brother, has been in custody since then. Two of his main collaborators were arrested in September last year in Belén de Heredia: Pinnock Campbell and Fernández Jiménez, who did not opt for an abbreviated procedure and will be prosecuted as alleged thugs of the Akl gang.