Puebla Kidnapping Cell Busted: Acatzingo Municipal Police Commander Among Arrested

Translated by Yaqui for Borderland Beat from: Animal Politico 

The commander and ex-officer of Acatzingo, Puebla, were detained; they were part of a group of kidnappers.

According to the Puebla Public Prosecutor's Office, the five accused are related to four kidnappings committed in the state, robbery of trucks and theft of hydrocarbons. The Acatzingo Commander is accused of providing protection to the criminal group.

The Puebla Public Prosecutor's Office dismantled a criminal group dedicated to kidnapping, transportation robbery and hydrocarbon robbery, and arrested five probable perpetrators, including the Acatzingo Municipal Police commander and an ex-element, ie the female officer, that resigned her functions last August.

Through a statement , the Attorney General of Puebla said the arrest occurred after four cases of kidnapping that have been investigated since last July.

"For a month and a half, investigating agents, including analysts, advisers, field investigators, criminalists and technology operators, allowed identifying the organization's members and their origin, as well as the authorities who not only provided protection, but actively participated," he explained.

According to the agency, the first of the kidnappings committed by the group occurred on July 3, 2018, when three people were riding on a vehicle around Santa María Actipan de Morelos, in Acatzingo, and were intercepted by another car, from which armed men descended. One of the passengers managed to escape and the other two were threatened.

Hours later, the relatives received a call in which they demanded the payment of 10 million pesos in exchange for releasing the two victims alive.

The second happened on July 15, when they kidnapped a rancher who was at a party. Men covered with their faces and armed entered the place where the celebration was held and subjected the attendees to let them take the man. To release him, they also asked for a ransom of 10 million pesos.

The third kidnapping was committed on July 29, when a businessman was deprived of his freedom upon arrival at his home. To free him, the delinquents asked his family to deliver 8 million pesos and various vehicles.

The last kidnapping was committed on August 22, when a minor, a student, was deprived of his liberty by two subjects on his way to school. His captors demanded 5 million pesos to free him alive.

The Prosecutor's Office explained that the captivity of the victims was 5, 6, 16 and 1 day, respectively, and all were released alive after the payments made, although he clarified that none of the cases exceeded 10 percent of the amount demanded.

He also explained that, having the corresponding arrest warrants, the investigating agents kept a permanent watch on the accused, who were arrested on September 1, when they left their security environment "in which they had information from the Municipal Commander of Police of Acatzingo, so the investigative  group of the Prosecutor's Office of kidnapping proceeded to conduct a follow-up and security operation. "

The first four detainees, Eduardo N. alias "el Parra", the municipal policeman Lucero N., Leonardo N., and Alejandro N., were arrested when they met at a hotel in Colonia El Conde, in the capital of Puebla.

Subsequently, the investagation team filed an arrest warrant against the Acatzingo municipal police commander, Vicente "N", who since 2004 worked in various municipal corporations, such as Los Reyes de Juárez and Palmar de Bravo.

The police woman also participated in other municipal corporations, in addition to Acatzingo, among them that of Tepeaca, Coapiaxtla, Acajete and Tecamachalco.

During the operation, the authorities of Puebla secured a long HK gun with a telescopic look with two loaders and 47 cartridges of caliber 5.46; a long AR-15 Colt gun with a magazine and 36 useful cartridges; a 5.7 caliber pistol with 14 useful cartridges, as well as a black Jetta car.