In a clear case of investigative journalism at it's very best

La Nacion has uncovered there are not only foreign prostitutes working in San Jose they are using marriages of convenience to get legal status here.
From this mornings
Inside Costa Rica.
4.000 Foreign Prostitutes Working In Costa Rica
According to a report published by the Spanish language daily La Nacion, the PolicÃa de Migración (immigraton police) estimate some 4.000 foreign prostitutes working in the country.
Costa Rican authorities say that the majority of the women are between 20 and 25 years of age and mainly come from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Colombia, as well as some "beautiful, trim, almost like angels" from Russia and Romania.
The majority of the "trabajadores de sexo social" (sex social workers) work in downtown San José night spots like night clubs (strip clubs), massage parlours and pick up bars. A number of the workers have taken to work beach areas like Jacó which is full of foreign men looking for a good time.
The estimate number is extrapolated from immigration police raids that have taken place in various downtown San José and beach area bars and clubs, where women are known to exercise the "older profession in the world".
The difference, according to immigration officials, is that Ticas (Costa Rican women) are in the minority today than the case in the past.
Francisco Castaing, director of the PolicÃa de Migración del Ministerio de Gobernación, was quoted as saying that in every place his officers visit, there are foreigners working the trade, and that many do not even flinch at the sight of immigration officials.
"They all appear to be married", said Castaing, which presents a problem for immigration officials as that a marriage to a Costa Rican national gives the foreigner legal status, even though immigration officials can clearly see that in the majority the cases, they are marriages of convenience and solely for the purpose of regulating their migratory status.
According to immigration police, some enter the country on the pretext of being tourists or artists, although their intention is otherwise. While others are part of an organized crime network that brings the women to Costa Rica to work as prostitutes for a time.
These organized crime networks, which Castaing says they are investigating, offer the women their legal status by having a "spouse" waiting for them when they arrive, although the two never actually meet, as the marriage is performed by a lawyer who specializes in marriages of convenience.
The viceministra de Seguridad Pública, Ana Durán, said that police officials are being trained to fight against this type of activity, but refused to provide details on the situation.
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