Costa Rica tops the list of countries where the most U.S. passports are stolen — from January to June this year, 783 U.S. tourists had their passports stolen here, according to a U.S. Embassy spokesman.

Authorities indicated that San José and the country’s beaches are areas where the most passports are stolen. In 2005, 1,558 passports were stolen in Costa Rica, more than were stolen in Rome and Mexico City. Many victims of passport theft also have money and other personal belongings stolen, according to the embassy.

The U.S. Embassy has posted theft-prevention tips for its citizens traveling to Costa Rica on its Web site.

Immigration director Mario Zamora told the daily La Nación that groups of organized international criminals are partly responsible for passport theft. Many stolen passports are transported to Belize, where they are sold for as much as $20,000, mostly to Cubans and Colombians, he said.

-ACAN-EFE