A tracking device installed in a vehicle stolen from an expat resident from the United States helped law enforcement agents take down a den of thieves located in the southern suburbs of San Jose. According to a news report filed by Patricia Duran of daily tabloid Diario Extra, a 37-year old man is in custody for his alleged role in this larcenous ring.

As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star:

An expat from the United States by the last name of Morehead sustained a gunshot wound and was rushed to the hospital after an apparent carjacking in Costa Rica. Diario Extra reported that the 46-year old expat resisted the carjacking and was shot during a struggle that occurred outside the vehicle. The shooting occurred in the vicinity of the Pozos district [in Santa Ana]; Mr. Morehead was about to park his vehicle at his home around 8:00 pm when he was suddenly approached by a suspect who had been hiding in the shadows.

Over the weekend, agents from the vehicle theft unit of the Office of Judicial Investigations (Spanish initials: OIJ) raided a derelict warehouse in an exurban sector of Desamparados. Agents tracked the signals emitted by the global positioning system (GPS) device in stalled in Mr. Morehead’s car.

Once the OIJ agents breached the gates of the warehouse, they found various stolen vehicles aside from Mr. Morehead’s. In fact, one of the agents immediately recognized a set of stolen license plated he had been investigating since 2014. The officers also found detached chassis sections as well as assorted auto parts and tools, which indicates the warehouse may have been used as a chop shop.

Apparently, grand theft auto was not the only nefarious activity carried out by this alleged criminal organization. There was also a small printing facility in the warehouse, which was used to counterfeit liquor bottle labels of premium national brands; these fake labels were found next to bottles of cheap liquor from the United States and China. Upon this discovery, agents notified their counterparts in a liquor and revenue crimes investigative unit.

The suspect taken into custody explained that he was only a guard or printing technician; notwithstanding his statements, agents believe he may be a fence.