Gang of foreign nationals arrested in Talca for planning murder during robbery
Ten individuals of Colombian and Venezuelan origin were arrested in the Maule region as they prepared to carry out a fatal robbery. The attack was scheduled for 9 June.
Gang of foreign nationals arrested in Talca for planning murder during robbery
Ten individuals of Colombian and Venezuelan origin were arrested in the Maule region whilst finalising preparations for a robbery that included the murder of the victim. The police operation dismantled the plan before it could be executed.
The detainees—eight men and two women—had travelled more than 250 kilometres from the central part of the country to San Clemente, in the Maule. There they rented a residence that served as an operations base. They were carrying documents with detailed schedules and movements of the target.
According to reporting by BioBioChile, most of the group had previously been incarcerated in penal facilities in Santiago and O'Higgins for serious crimes including intimidation robbery, violent theft and homicide. Authorities indicated that the accused individuals would have made contact inside detention centres, where they would have devised the operation to carry out after regaining their freedom.
Sub-prefect Hassel Barrientos, heading the Metropolitan Bipe, stated that the criminal group had moved to the Maule with the intention of establishing themselves in that region and committing various robberies with intimidation, violent assaults and crimes against persons. During the search of the property used as a refuge, four pistols with ammunition of different calibres were seized, along with two vehicles; one of these was reported as stolen.
Supraterritorial Chief Prosecutor Miguel Ángel de Orellana praised the collaboration between different regional public prosecutors' offices to prevent the commission of a crime of enormous gravity. Following formalisation, all those arrested were remanded in custody, as they not only violated firearms control regulations but also participated in a larger conspiracy that included renting a refuge property and the execution of a crime of extreme gravity.
The residence used as a hideout was located in a strictly residential area of Talca and had been rented for several days exclusively to commit the crime in stages, the prosecutor specified.
The composition of the group is mixed: four of those arrested are Colombian nationals and six are Venezuelan nationals. Authorities warned that within penal facilities, criminals interact and frequently organise operations for when they regain their freedom, with the aim of raising funds and maintaining links with the criminal organisation that would have brought them to the country.
Source: Google News CL — Crime