After conducting saturation law-enforcement sweeps in Guanacaste province this weekend, authorities announced they discovered 120 undocumented Nicaraguan laborers crammed into two covachas, or wretched huts.

A press release states the covachas are in Filadelfia and Belén de Carrillo. Most of the Nicaraguans, all of whom were undocumented, said they worked for the Chilean construction company, Melón. They also claimed their employer was keeping their identification papers.

Seventy-seven of the 120 Nicaraguans are still in immigration police custody and are likely to be deported, the release states.

As a result of the sweeps, Public Security Minister Fernando Berrocal said he plans this week to make a formal complaint to the Labor and Health ministries because of the Nicaraguans' deplorable living conditions.

The Public Security Ministry transferred 115 officers to Guanacaste over the weekend to conduct the beefed-up operations.

The sweeps also resulted in seven drug arrests, for crack and marijuana, and the seizure of 17 cars, which allegedly belonged to black-market taxi drivers.