The recent trial of a Lebanese man by the last name of Anis led to him receiving a 12-year prison sentence for smuggling migrants, reported the judiciary press office today.

His trial was held earlier this month in the Criminal Court of Corredores, Puntarenas province,in the southern border region with Panama.

He was sentenced to “aggravated illicit trafficking of persons” for his activities which involved accepting payments for aiding migrants travel northward from Costa Rica’s southern border to Honduras.

He mainly worked to smuggle African migrants, aiding them to evade border controls between Costa Rica and Nicaragua and between Nicaragua and Honduras. He charged upwards of US$1,500 to the desperate migrants seeking a way north.

Anís was living in Paso Canoas on the Costa Rican border with Panama when authorities raided his house in April 2016.

At that time, Anis was arrested, and evidence was collected for the police investigation into his alleged smuggling activities.