Shot of one of the thefts committed by this criminal structure.
Photo: Bogotá Sectional Prosecutor’s Office
Videos from security cameras, witnesses and victims are part of the evidence presented by the Bogotá Sectional Prosecutor’s Office to prosecute four individuals who formed a criminal gang dedicated to the violent theft of expensive trucks. In their criminal activity, they participated in the theft of 12 vehicles, including one belonging to the authorities.
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As the investigative entity found, the group had demarcated roles to commit the theft of the trucks. They did this by accosting the owners when they arrived at their homes, intimidating them with firearms and taking their cars to an unknown destination.
In one of the reported cases, the gang known as ‘Los Chaguendo’ -due to the surname of two of the criminals- stole a vehicle assigned to the Dipol of the National Police. The band, however, is also known as ‘Los Toyoteros’. “In the escape they took one of the occupants, a woman who was abandoned hours later in the west of Bogotá,” said the investigating entity.
The members of this criminal structure were captured in a joint action with the National Police. In the procedures, the authorities seized a firearm, 9 mm ammunition, cell phones and a bulletproof shirt.
The defendants were identified as: Jhon Lugan Millán Chaguendo, Byron Jhoel Jiménez López, Sebastián Reina Vargas and Andrés Giovanny Cruz Chaguendo. All of them were placed under security measures in prison, except for one of the members, because shortly before the capture he was shot by other criminals, which is why the prosecutor asked for him to be placed at home.
The evidentiary material collected shows its impact on the theft of at least 12 vehicles in different parts of the city, particularly in the towns of Puente Aranda, Engativá and Kennedy, in Bogotá. Their target was vehicles, mainly Toyota Fortune and TXL brands.
Vehicle theft in Bogotá
According to data from the Bogotá Metropolitan Police, through prevention and control actions, they have managed to reduce automobile theft by -11% and motorcycle theft by -06%, thus managing to recover 164 vehicles and 174 motorcycles, to a total of 338 vehicles, so far in 2024.
As a result of the operations during the first days of March in the towns of Los Mártires, Bosa and Rafael Uribe Uribe, the authorities managed to recover 46 motorcycles, 23 vehicles and capture 49 people for the crimes of receipt, trademark falsification and theft.
For more news from the capital and Cundinamarca, visit the Bogotá section of The viewer.
