Sex Slaves at Night Club Atlantis in Costa Rica

Managers of the Atlantis night club in Costa Rica were arrested by police on charges of human trafficking and sexual slavery. A total of 25 women from Colombia, Venezuela, Honduras, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic and Russia were rescued from the operation in the La Uruca suburb of San Jose. Police allege that the owners brought the girls into the country, took their passports, prevented them from leaving, and paid less than they expected to earn as dancers in the night club.



A news report in Al Dia also says that uncooperative girls were lined up against a wall with bullet holes and threatened at gunpoint. Police recovered a firearm and other evidence during searches at the night club, and homes in Escazú, Sabana Sur, Rohrmoser, and Alajuelita.

Arrested were the night club manager, an Egyptian national along with a Colombian and Costa Rican involved with the business. Police are looking for the owner of the night club, a United States citizen who they believe is out of the country.

Expats who know the gringo owner say he claimed to be from an affluent family in California, and involved his adult son in the Atlantis night club business in Costa Rica. He also claimed to have frequently visited Colombia, and had once been married to a woman there. The Egyptian club manager was also said to be a former bodyguard for government officials in that country.

“Night Club” in English is a Costa Rican term for strip club, however unlike in the United States the dancers are usually on the menu because prostitution is not illegal in Costa Rica. The Atlantis Night Club, located in La Uruca with Tango India are “high end” clubs where the managers expect at least $200 for sex with a dancer in the champagne room. The suites at Atlantis feature large hot tubs, which goes along with the water theme of the club name.

Sex Tourist Dies of Heart Attack at Hotel Del Rey with Prostitute

A U.S. citizen died suddenly of cardiac arrest at the Hotel Del Rey in San Jose, Costa Rica while having sex with the local prostitute. According to a report in Diario Extra the hotel was locked down for six hours while judicial agents conducted an investigation and removed the body of the tourist.

Several doses of cocaine were also collected at scene, and the man is said to have died just after taking a “love pill”. Unfortunately, the mix of sex and drugs in Costa Rica has proven to be a dangerous, but and seductive lure for North American men. Opened in 1993, the Hotel Del Rey in San Jose is a magnet for both older gentleman from the United States, and single mothers trying to make ends meet in Latin America.

While cocaine use is illegal in Costa Rica, last year the chief prosecutor announced that his office would no longer peruse criminal charges on small possession cases for illicit drugs. The policy change is a nice compliment for a country where prostitution is nice and legal. The last high-profile drug overdose of a foreigner in Costa Rica occurred in December when a 28 year old woman was found dead of a heroin overdose in her economy hotel room, Cabinas Jacomar in Jacó. Both downtown San Jose and the Pacific beach town of Jacó are now famous, “Narco-Vacation” spots in Costa Rica. Both also have a more than ample supply of hookers, casino gambling and poker rooms to complete the cocktail of vice.

Narco Vacation in Costa Rica

Last year crminal prosecutors in Costa Rica offically confirmed that small scale narcotics posession cases were no longer being prosecuted. Many had suspected that such a policy had been in place for some time, however officals were relucant to immediately confirm the truth.

The result is that anyone caught by police with a relatively small amount of narcotics, including cocaine, marajuna, heroin or methamphetamine can at worst expect to face a night in jail and confiscation of their stash. Foreigners of course can expect to be extorted or robbed by the police if caught with drugs, but those who are at least knowlegeble of the law and conversant in Spanish can mitigate the shake down.

The drug of choice in Costa Rica is cocaine. The street price is around $5 a gram, and it usually hasn't been steped on to the extent common in the United States where it can cost more than $50 a gram. Cocaine seizures in Costa Rica can be measured by the ton instead of by the kilo in the United States. A recent seizure in Golfo Duce netted 1,900 kilos, which would have a street price of $95 million in the United States.



The best way for a foreign visitor to get their hands on some coke in San Jose is to stay at the Hotel Del Rey and do the deal with one of the prostitutes. The standard approach is to book a room at the Del Rey, and then pick up a hooker who likes white powder. Most do, so just negoiate that point up front. Some of the girls are small time dealers, and any of them can just walk out front of the hotel to their supplier who is pretending to sell cigars on the street corner.

The sex and the drug consumption takes place in the hotel room. It's a relatively low risk transaction for the foreigner because he never touches the drugs until he is in the safety of his hotel room. In Costa Rica it is very difficult for police to come into your hotel room because it would normally require a search warrent.
Of course cocaine is one of the major reasons to book a room at the Hotel Del Rey.

Many who just come to Costa Rica for the hookers will stay at other hotels in San Jose that offer a better deal. For coke users the Del Rey is the place to stay because it means enjoying both the drugs and hookers without having to put a foot onto the public street and get extorted by the police.

The situation in Costa Rica does also have some unique quirks apart from cocaine seemlingly falling out of the sky. First, the odds of getting caught with narcotics in the airport are extremely high. Securiuty has progressivly increased over the last five years, and the situation is now simular to Colombia where you can expect that every inch of carry-on and checked baggage is indiviually inspected.

Also, prosecutors won't just let someone transporting a small amount of cocaine out of the country walk away. It's apparently acceptable to walk down the street with an eightball, but trying to take one home can get a gringo a prison stay.

It's also difficult to find good marijuana in Costa Rica, and expats who like to smoke often complain that sources can dry up overnight and disappear for long periods of time. Price is also usually higher than in most places in the United States. For the most part cocaine is the drug of the masses, and marijuana is a product preffered by rich kids who can afford it.

Unfortunately the drug problem is Costa Rica has caused a big increase in crime. Most of the dealers are also users, and they can get arresive in trying to sell to foreigners. It's difficult for a gringo to walk more than a couple blocks in Jaco without getting offered cocaine. Polite refusal is a best policy, even for those who want to buy drugs.

Simply put, the longer a foreign cocaine user stays in Costa Rica the greater the danger to their own saftey, especilly if every street thug in town is aware of their interests. Narco vacations in Costa Rica can become very dangerous, especilaly when they are long-term.