The finding of various people lifeless on public roads, which was initially considered that they could be homeless or people who had died due to alcohol or drugs, turned out to be trace of a criminal structure linked to the operation of clandestine taxis.
The prosecution calls them as Death piratesbecause they operated in unregistered transport units, and used drugs to strip people who contacted liquor sales and then transferred them in the vehicle to steal their belongings. Then simply They abandoned them at different points and different hours of the day.
This is how the images recorded by video surveillance cameras became Key indications For the authorities to establish the way of operating and the alleged members of the criminal structure, 12 of which were arrested and made available to justice this Wednesday, April 2, 2025.
It was not an assault with a habitual way. According to research, his tactic was deceive consumers in canteens or alcoholic beveragesas stations of Gas stationswith whom they shared and earned their trust, to adulterate their drinks and then offer them a trip home.
That turned out to be the hook so that, once unconscious, the victims were easily stripped of your belongings and your bank cards will be used To make transactions.
However, this robbery, which apparently did not imply violence or intimidation, in more than half of the cases investigated was lethal due to the effects of the drugs used.
“They, unfortunately, died from poisoning, not receiving medical attention”police sources reported when expanding details of the cases.
In total, at least 40 criminal facts, of which 23 resulted in the death of their victims.
As the investigations advanced, the authorities determined that the structure used At least 19 vehicles that operated as pirate taxis.
Video images show precisely one of the points where one of the victims was abandoned. The recording shows how the driver, alleged member of the structure, first observed the panorama in one of the streets that seemed desolate.
After several turns around in the same block, the driver finally stopped and He prepared to leave the bodyletting it fall from one of the rear doors, in the passenger seats. Then, the door closed and immediately the vehicle withdrew from the place.
Prosecutors of the Public Ministry reported on Wednesday, April 2, at a press conference, which as part of the operations, the band had an electronic point of sale device, better known as POS, with which they made fraudulent transactions for amounts between Q10 thousand and Q40 thousand.
They also detailed that they have various recordings in which the same way of operating is observed: they abandoned people in the streets, who ended up dying due to the effects of narcotics.
The General Subdirectorate of Criminal Investigation of the PNC, together with the Prosecutor’s Office, developed an operation with a deployment of 28 raids In the municipalities of Villa Canales, Santa Catarina Pinula, Villa Nueva, San Pedro Ayampuc, San Juan Sacatepéquez, San Miguel Petapa, Guatemala (Capital), Palencia, as well as Mixco and Sanarate, El Progreso.
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