A brave customer of a bar helped to uncover a network of trafficking for sexual exploitation in 3 bars of La Fortuna de San Carlos.
That customer helped several victims to flee last August 15th and took them to the authorities. The women recruited for prostitution were Nicaraguan nationals who entered the country illegally.
Immigration Police and the Deputy Prosecutor of San Carlos arrested five Nicaraguans as main suspects: a man and a woman named Rivera Carrión (sibilings and leaders), the daughter of one of the leaders, and two women named Hernández Valles and Hernández González.
The case dates back to August 11th, when Hernández Valles intercepted 3 women in León, Nicaragua, and offered them work as waitresses in one of the raided bars. Apparently, the women were offered $320 a month, plus lodging and food.
Upon acceptance of the victims, they entered the country illegally. During transport the victims noticed several anomalies that led them to suspect that they were being deceived, so they were threatened not to try to flee,”
said the Public Ministry.
For each sexual service, customers paid 16 thousand colones. However, that money never reached the hands of the victims. The traffickers took it all.
During the raid marked bills that had been used in the investigation were found, in addition to note books that controlled every movement of the victims. Cocaine, syringes, contraceptives and drugs were also found,”
said the report.
The 5 suspects will spend the next 6 months in preventive detention while being investigated for the crime of human trafficking.
Investigators believe that the prostitution ring operated with 30 people in total, including Dominican and Nicaraguan nationals.