The police command and government authorities traveled to Esmeraldas this Friday to give details of the capture of members of the Los Tiguerones criminal organization.
Los Tiguerones, the gang to which active soccer players and police officers are linked, has links in several provinces and FARC dissidents
From that border city, the Minister of the Interior, Patricio Carrillo, confirmed the capture of three active police officers and a soccer player for their alleged links with that criminal organization.
The apprehended footballer is Gabriel Cortez, who belongs to the ranks of Barcelona. He was arrested in Guayaquil and transferred this Friday to Esmeraldas.
Barcelona SC pronounces itself for the arrest of Gabriel Cortez
Without directly giving the name of the player, Carrillo mentioned the alleged links between the footballer and the band. “Not only do we believe (that) he has participation (with the Los Tiguerones organization), but (that) he was the one who ordered and received the information regarding the people that the hitmen had attacked, depriving them of their lives,” said the official.
After 29 raids carried out in Esmeraldas, Guayas and Manabí, the Police arrested 18 people who would be linked to a criminal organization.
Within the operation, 16 weapons, 29 ammunition, 3 vehicles and drugs were seized.
Carrillo maintained that in this case there is no flagrante delicto, but an entire investigation process.
They arrest 18 people who would be linked to the Los Tiguerones gang; there is a soccer player and three police officers among those arrested
Asked about the evidence and other links that were found to capture the soccer player and the police, the minister only confirmed that “they have participation, there is necessary evidence, and they were part of the organization.”
He said that, when the Prosecutor’s Office releases and goes to another instance, more details will be known.
The minister maintained that prison search operations have been arranged after these arrests and that the leaders of this gang will be placed under a special disciplinary regime.
“The Government urges the administration of justice: here we have worked together with the Prosecutor’s Office, many of the legal actions have been achieved; but it is up to them that, in due process and a fair trial, they receive the corresponding criminal sanction,” Carrillo asserted.
A contingent will be in Esmeraldas to continue the investigations, and special units will be on the streets.
Carlos Cabrera, police commander, said that Los Tiguerones have criminal activities in Esmeraldas and are controlled by a sixth ringleader in that area. He directed the operation from the prison of that border city.
‘These people (from the gangs) want to give way to the placement of explosives, that is more serious, that is why it is important that we all unite to fight them,’ says Minister of the Interior
He said that this gang has connections with the Oliver Sinisterra group and FARC dissidents, and that it is related to the trafficking of illicit substances, murders, extortion, arms trafficking.
Oliver Sinisterra is a group led by aliases Guachoresponsible for the murder of newspaper journalists Trade.
Cabrera mentioned that the detainees await the hearing to formulate charges and the policemen have been placed under the orders of the competent authorities.
According to police investigations, the captured active uniformed officers gave information and mobilized members of the gang.
Esmeraldas is currently one of the most conflictive areas of the country, due to the high number of violent deaths. In several neighborhoods on the riverbanks there are clashes between gangs.
Until this week, the province registered more than 130 violent deaths, a figure higher than the 34 cases that were had in the same period last year.
Claims before the hearing
The soccer player was taken from Guayaquil to Esmeraldas in a helicopter of the Aeropolicial service. He was transferred to the Esmeraldas Temporary Assurance Center. The player wore a cap, a white shirt, black shorts, sneakers and a sweater that covered the shackles on his hands.
In that same place, the other 17 people detained in the operation Rescate-Gran Impacto 10 were admitted for the hearing to formulate charges.
Agents from elite units of the Police shielded the perimeter of the preventive detention center, which is next to the Community Surveillance Unit (UVC) and the Subzone 8 National Police Command. Meanwhile, family members and friends of Cortez were located in the part external UVC, questioning his arrest.
The hearings were scheduled to begin on the afternoon of this Friday the 22nd. Meanwhile, the Prosecutor’s Office and lawyers from the police institution reviewed evidence and evidence that supports the judicial responsibilities of those detained in the raids in Guayas, Manabí and Esmeraldas. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
