Costa Rica frees 15 Vietnamese from 'modern slavery'

Costa Rican police Sunday, April 11 freed 15 Vietnamese among 36 Asians from "inhumane" conditions aboard two fishing boats operated by a foreign shipping company, where they were beaten and forced to work for no pay, local media said.

The men -- 15 Vietnamese, 13 Indonesians, five Filipinos and three Chinese -- were forced to work for 20 hours a day, given little food and given lashes as punishment, officials told La Nacion newspaper.

"They were in completely unsanitary, inhumane, overcrowded (conditions)," said Jorge Rojas Vargas, director of the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ).

The men were told they would be paid $250 a month, but no cash was given and the ship's Taiwanese operators claimed to have sent payment to the group's families. Their passports were confiscated in an attempt to thwart escapes.

"This is modern slavery," director of migration Mario Zamora was quoted as saying.

The owners of the fishing boats were not identified, but authorities said two Taiwanese men and a Costa Rican were arrested in the operation.

Authorities are investigating the case as suspected human trafficking -- the third most lucrative black market business behind drug and arms trafficking. The trade brings in some $9.5 billion a year globally, according to UN figures.

Costa Rican police had been investigating the case for four months, since nine Vietnamese men escaped by jumping overboard, swimming to shore and alerting authorities, officials said.