A band of four thieves suspected of robbing truck drivers in the Caribbean region of Costa Rica were ready to ply their nefarious trade on Christmas Eve and come away with a big score of coffee beans, tires and home appliances. Thanks to the work of Fuerza Publica officers, however, members of this Grinch mob were forced to sing Silent Night behind bars.

According to an official press release by the national police force of Costa Rica, officers assigned to Limon had been investigating a string of robberies that took place over the last few months. The alleged criminals adhered to a modus operandi that consisted of intercepting truck drivers who were either going in or out of the Port of Moin.

In recent weeks, the suspects had broken into containers filled with coffee, home appliances and tires. They often tailed truck drivers out of Limon and waited for the right moment to approach them and subdue them at gunpoint. Fuerza Publica officers expected that the thieves would be organizing a Christmas job, and thus they increased their patrols in the area in recent days.

In the early morning hours of December 23^rd, Fuerza Publica agents on patrol noticed, from a distance, suspicious movement surrounding a truck that had been separated from its trailer and container. Under the cover of darkness and using the thick vegetation for cover, the officers silently approached. Upon closer inspection, they noticed that the truck driver had been hogtied and gagged.

Since one of the suspects was visibly armed, the officers waited for the right moment to intervene and prevent a shootout or an armed standoff. Once the truck driver was out of danger, the officers made their move to rescue him while taking the suspects down. A .38 caliber handgun with three rounds was immediately confiscated; registration number 11-00300359-PE matched a previous robbery in Heredia.

The Grinch mob will now have to wait for prosecutors to return from their Christmas holiday before they are charged.