Comastri case: five arrested over Rivadavia robbery, one with drug record in Paraguay
Five suspects were captured following the violent assault on "Pollo" Comastri in Rivadavia. Among them, a Paraguayan citizen linked to drug trafficking.
Paraguayan drug trafficker and four accomplices arrested over assault on "Pollo" Comastri in Rivadavia
The investigation into the violent assault committed during the early morning hours of 11 October in Rivadavia against "Pollo" Comastri resulted in the capture of five suspects, according to tiempodesanjuan.com. The case gained greater prominence due to the profile of one of those detained: Omar Fermín López, a Paraguayan citizen with an extensive police record.
López had been arrested days earlier as part of the judicial operation "Tía Mari", charged with selling drugs in front of a school establishment. Additionally, it emerged that he has links to drug trafficking in his country of origin.
Initial evidence suggested that the gang was about to commit a new crime in the province. At the moment they were intercepted by authorities, the suspects were travelling in a vehicle carrying balaclavas, cable ties, crowbars and pry bars.
The large-scale operation was carried out by the Western Brigade under the command of Commissioner Ríos, with four simultaneous raids. The proceedings began at 4 in the morning on Tuesday and extended until midday at addresses in Pocito, Rawson, Capital and Rivadavia.
Joint work with the Property Crimes Specialist Investigation Unit enabled the arrest of four adults: López, Daniel Alejandro Cortez, Isaías Joel González and Axel Emanuel Cristofoletti Quintero. A 16-year-old minor also fell into custody with serious prior offences: he had participated in a robbery in Concepción months earlier, where a family was victim to theft and abuse.
The prosecutor in charge of the case, Claudia Salica, noted that analysis of security camera footage proved key to reconstructing the group's logistics. The images showed that the robbers used a white Renault Trafic van, with support from a champagne-coloured Peugeot 206 that operated as a support vehicle.
The Public Prosecutor's Office will request a detention review hearing to formalise the charge under the heading of aggravated robbery due to it being committed in a populated area and by a gang with use of a firearm. In parallel, proceedings will begin to open the mobile phones seized, and reports are awaited to determine the link between the registered owners of the vehicles and those detained.
Regarding the victim's state of health, judicial authorities confirmed that Comastri is progressing favourably: he is out of danger and continues under medical evaluation.
Source: Google News PR — San Juan