In an operation carried out by the Military Gaula (Anti-Extortion and Anti-Kidnapping Group)y group of Risaralda in coordination with the Gaula (Anti-Extortion and Anti-Kidnapping Group) of the National Police, nine individuals were arrested and the the local group Los Jotas was dismantled.
The tactical mission was carried out simultaneously in Medellín, Villavicencio, Chiquinquirá, Bucaramanga, Barrancabermeja and Quimbaya.
During the investigation, it was possible to determine that this group, whose ringleader was one of those arrested, had its criminal operations from inside the Central Prison of Barnes in Boyacá, where he organized and coordinated the selection and subsequent contact with the victims by means of telephone calls in which through intimidation and threats, managed to extort and charge high sums of money.
The remaining eight arrests correspond to members of the gang, who were in charge of collecting the money from extortions and carrying out selective kidnappings of victims in different regions of the country.
The method in which they carried out their criminal operations was through telephone threats made from prison, in which they identified themselves as members of groups outlaw, demanding sums of money in exchange for not attacking the victims or their families.
They in the same way stated that, if they gave information to the authorities, they would be targeted by those organizations. After the threat, they demanded money of the extortion, through bank accounts or money transfer companies, providing full names and their personal identification number.
Among the crimes against those arrested are simple kidnapping, aggravated extortion in attempt, association to commit crimes and theft qualified and aggravated.
Source: Press - Military Gaula
