The Fiscalia (Prosecutor’s Office) in Corredores and the Office of Trafficking in Persons and the Illicit Trafficking of Migrants are asking for jail time for two women in the southern zone, for the trafficking of persons for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
The women, who were identified by their last names Tapia Tapia and Moncrieffe Arrieta, were arrested Friday afternoon following a joint operation by the aforementioned offices and the Organismo de Investigacion Judicial (OIJ) trafficking unit.
The police operation was carried out in a bar in Cuidad Neily the women used to house and offered the victims to customers. The press office of the Ministerio Publico (Public Prosecutor’s Office) said a total 12 victims were rescued during the raid, a mix of Colombian, Panamian and Dominican nationals.
Tapia and Moncrieffe, Dominican and Costa Rican respectively, manager the bar and allegedly offered the women to male customers, who paid ¢16,000 colones (US$28) for a 30-minute encounter. Taking the women out of the bar cost US$130.
In the raid, seized was cash allegedly paid for the illegal activity.
In Costa Rica, prostitution is not an illegal activity, but proxenetismo – pimping or pandering – is.
