Municipal Police Officer Extorted Bribes from Local Businesses
A police officer with the Policia Municipal (Municipal Police) was detained by agents of the Fiscalía de Delitos Varios following a complaint by a hotel manager that the officer was charging him ¢40.000 colones (us$85) a week so that he would have no problems with is operating license.

Identified only by her last name, García Barboza, according to the court press office, was asked to present herself every 15 days for the next three months and not to contact her accusers, rejecting the prosecutor's request for a preventive detention period against the woman.

Sources close to the investigation say that a complaint was received by agents of the Sección de Fraudes del Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) when during a police operation to check licenses of hotels and "pensiones", the officer asked the manager for the bribe, promising that he would have no further problems.

The officer asked the man for ¢60.000 up front and then ¢40.000 each week.

OIJ agents co-ordinated their efforts with the Fiscalia (prosecutor's office) and gave the manager a marked ¢10.000 colones note to give to the corrupt official in his weekly payment. Once the police official accepted the payment and placed the marked bill in her purse,  OIJ agents, along with a prosecutor and a judge (a requirement during a sting operation), detained her and confiscated the marked bill for evidence.

Manuel Garro, head of the Municipal Police force, said he was taken aback by the occurrence and that there exists that type of person within his police force, which will mark the remaining officers who fulfill their duties honestly.

Garro also is making a call to all citizens to come forward and report any similar situation to judicial officials (the OIJ). At the same time Garro indicated that the Municipality is making an administrative investigation of the matter with the objective to avoid any other similar problems.