Police nabs 12 persons for kidnapping US businessman in Costa Rica

The police arrested 12 persons for allegedly kidnapping an American businessman in Costa Rica. The persons were arrested in Costa Rica and Spain.

The assailants kidnapped William Sean Creighton Kopko, the owner of 5Dimes, an online gambling platform, on September 24 in Costa Rica.

Kopko’s family agreed to pay the ransom of the Bitcoin equivalent of $950,800 after his kidnappers made several calls threatening to kill him.

But once the payment was made, the kidnappers stopped communicating with Kopko’s family and he is still missing.

After the kidnapping members of the gang fled to Cuba, the Civil Guard statement said. On November 9, Costa Rica informed the Civil Guard that three suspects had left Cuba and entered Spain through the Madrid-Barajas airport. The suspects who travelled to Spain were arrested after they rented a house in the city of Zaragoza, according to the news release.

Video from Costa Rican investigators shows authorities raiding a house on Friday in Costa Rica. That raid lead to the arrest of nine others allegedly involved in the kidnapping scheme.

The US State Department has not posted any travel advisories regarding Costa Rica, but there is a warning on its website that crime “is increasing in Costa Rica and U.S. citizens are frequent victims.”

American Carla Stefaniak was found dead after she went missing in Costa Rica in November. A security guard at the Airbnb where Stefaniak was staying was arrested and is a suspect in her killing.