Uriel Hernández, known as alias Shakawas captured during a raid carried out by investigators from the National Division against the Criminal Development of Gangs (Dipanda), and prosecutors from the Public Ministry (MP), in Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa, Escuintla.
The authorities point to Hernández as allegedly responsible for demanding money from heavy transport pilots who circulate on the route to the Pacific and the CA-2 West.
The capture occurred after an investigation derived from a video spread on social networks, in which a man with his face covered and a motorcycle helmet demands money from a transporter in exchange for allowing him to continue his journey.
Jorge Aguilar, spokesperson for the National Civil Police (PNC), explained that the capture is related to the video recorded by the victim herself.
“This man, Uriel, is the person allegedly responsible for demanding money from the heavy transport pilots in the southern sector of the country. Now he has been transferred to jail. He will no longer be bothering in that sector,” said Aguilar.
During the investigation, the authorities located two cell phones that will be analyzed as part of the investigations, in addition to drugs.
Structure linked to drug trafficking
Hernández is investigated by the PNC and his connection with a criminal structure that operates between kilometers 110 and 145 of the route to the Pacific, in Escuintla and Suchitepéquez, where heavy transport pilots have reported being victims of illegal charges.
The first investigations by the Police indicate that the structure monitors heavy transport vehicles to intercept them and charge them a fee in exchange for allowing them to continue their journey.
According to the investigation, the charge required from transporters is US$250, approximately Q1,800 for each trailer.
The Police reported that they have identified several members of the structure, including the alleged leaders, who would have remained in Mexico and would have links to a drug trafficking cartel.
According to the PNC, the way they operate in Escuintla and Suchitepéquez bears similarities to criminal groups in Mexico, where transporters are charged to allow them to travel on certain routes.
Meanwhile, the Public Ministry reported that the Municipal Prosecutor’s Office of Tiquisate, Escuintla, received on May 22 a complaint related to a type of extortion directed at heavy transport drivers dedicated to the transfer of vehicles from abroad.
The authorities are also investigating whether the death of Honduran pilot Jimmy Ronald Martínez Paz, 41, who was shot on June 13 at kilometer 136.5 of route CA-2, in San Antonio, Suchitepéquez, is related to the activities of this criminal structure.
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