Eighteen drug couriers posing as members of a Mexican television station were nabbed in Nicaragua on Thursday along with six vans and  7  million in US currency.
The men have told the authorities that were on an assignment to cover a high profile criminal trial in a central American country, but they did not reveal the name of the country, the newspaper Proceso said.
The individuals, at least 17 of whom are Mexican citizens according to Proceso, apparently entered Nicaragua on August 22 and told customs officials that they were employees of Televisa, a Mexican mass media company. Although they were traveling in six vans bearing the Televisa logo their media identification cards proved to be forged, and when contacted Televisa representatives claimed that they had no affiliation with the company.
The individuals said they had been tasked with covering the trial of Henry Fariñas, the Nicaraguan businessman who was with Argentine folksinger Facundo Cabral in Guatemala City in July 2011 when gunmen opened fire on their vehicle, killing the musician and injuring Fariñas. Fariñas is accused of facilitating drug shipments and money laundering activities for various drug trafficking organizations in the region.
Upon searching their vehicles, police found that the group had been attempting to smuggle in  at least seven million dollars’ worth of hard currency into the country.
Additional resources:Insight Crime.