{"id":508833,"date":"2026-05-28T17:22:03","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T21:22:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.net\/en\/uncategorized\/they-forced-53-lockers-and-spent-about-55100-usd-with-stolen-cards-in-costa-rica\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T17:22:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T21:22:03","slug":"they-forced-53-lockers-and-spent-about-55100-usd-with-stolen-cards-in-costa-rica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/uncategorized\/they-forced-53-lockers-and-spent-about-55100-usd-with-stolen-cards-in-costa-rica\/","title":{"rendered":"They forced 53 lockers and spent about 55,100 USD with stolen cards in Costa Rica"},"content":{"rendered":"The\u00a0capture of 12 members<\/strong>\u00a0of a gang accused of robbing gym users in\u00a0Costa Rica<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>was carried out on Thursday morning, after seven raids by the Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ) in Alajuela and other areas.<\/a>\n\nAccording to a note from Diario Extra of Costa Rica, the organization is linked to 53 cases and damages exceeding \u20a125 million colones (about $55,000) and USD 10,000, according to the a.i. subdirector Vladimir Mu\u00f1oz.\n\nAccording to the OIJ, the group entered gyms as clients, forced lockers during brief moments of inattention, and stole credit and debit cards.<\/strong> They then made purchases in stores and virtual platforms, with a special focus on high-value goods, before the victims blocked the cards.\n\n\n

<\/a>The note highlights that the investigation began in January 2025<\/strong>, when the agents detected a pattern that was repeated in gyms in San Jos\u00e9 and that later extended to Alajuela, Heredia and San Ram\u00f3n, according to Mu\u00f1oz.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How the gang operated in the gyms and what crimes are being investigated<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\nThe investigations allowed to document 27 legal cases at the beginning. With the progress of the file, about 25 additional cases were added<\/strong>, according to information from the OIJ, which keeps the total count at 53 complaints linked to the same structure.<\/a>\n\nA blue-gloved hand forces the lock of a metal gym locker, revealing a wallet with bank cards and a mobile phone inside.\n\n\n

We recommend reading: Panama opens the door to dialogue with Costa Rica, but demands \u201cthe same rules\u201d<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\nAccording to the Theft Section, the suspects entered as users, observed routines, and chose moments of lower surveillance to force the lockers. The main objective was bank cards, which they used quickly to reduce the possibility of being blocked.\n\n“High-value purchases<\/strong>“, liquor and other items are among the consumptions made with the stolen plastics, said Mu\u00f1oz. The OIJ estimated the damage at \u20a125 million<\/strong> and USD 10,000<\/strong>.\n\n\n

Seven raids and what was seized during the operation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\nOn Thursday morning, OIJ agents carried out seven raids<\/strong> in Alajuela and other areas of the country. The operation ended with the capture of 12 people that the authorities link to the investigated gang.<\/strong>\n\nAmong those arrested are the alleged leaders, identified by the last names Ag\u00fcero<\/strong> (32) and Aguilar<\/strong> (23), as well as 10 other suspects, as detailed by the OIJ.\n\nDuring the procedures, agents seized mobile phones, liquor, marijuana, and items of value related to the investigated events, the institution reported.\n\n\n

What’s next in the case and the OIJ’s request to potential victims<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\nThe case file remains open. The OIJ reported that it is still searching for a suspect pending<\/strong> arrest and that it does not rule out new complaints as information is reviewed and cases are incorporated.\n\nThe victims, mostly regular gym users, noticed the theft during their routines or shortly after, when unauthorized charges appeared.\n\nADVERTISEMENT. Seized objects, including bank cards, phones, liquor, and marijuana, are displayed on a light wooden table with case labels, in an OIJ investigation room. (Illustrative Image Infobae)\n\nThe OIJ asked those who have suffered similar events to file a complaint to verify if there are connections with the ongoing case.\n\n\n

Overview of Other Crimes in the Country<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\nBetween 2025 and May 2026, 7,543 reports<\/strong> of burglaries and thefts in homes were accumulated, an average of one case every hour and a half, according to the Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ)<\/strong> in a publication by Monumental<\/em>.\n\n\n

In terms of lethal violence, in the first four months of 2026, 265 homicides<\/strong> were recorded, a lower figure than in the same period of 2025, and 66% of the victims were between 12 and 39 years old, according to the Ministry of Public Security, as published by Infobae<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also read: San Juan de Dios Hospital in Costa Rica temporarily closes Burn Unit after increase in bacterial infections<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\nVehicle thefts also added up to hundreds of complaints: between January 1 and February 11, 2026, 513 reports were registered, while in 2025, 4,751 cases were reported, and more than 60% of the events occurred due to the owners’ carelessness, according to Infobae<\/em>.\n\nIn parallel, the Public Force<\/strong> reported a reinforcement of operations and in 2025 reached almost 215,000 apprehensions, according to agreement <\/a>with what was published by Infobae<\/em> on information from the Ministry of Public Security.\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0capture of 12 members\u00a0of a gang accused of robbing gym users in\u00a0Costa Rica\u00a0was carried out on Thursday morning, after seven raids by the Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ) in Alajuela and other areas. According to a note from Diario Extra of Costa Rica, the organization is linked to 53 cases and damages exceeding \u20a125 million colones […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133556,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-508833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phj1q1-28mZ","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","dum_api":{"author_name":"Yerandi Santana","author_image":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/cropped-WhatsApp-Image-2026-02-13-at-5.35.07-PM-96x96.jpeg","categories_name":["Uncategorized"],"featured_media_url":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/133556"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=508833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508833\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=508833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=508833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=508833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}