The six members of the criminal gang ‘Los ‘Toyotanos’ who were captured after three months of intelligence work by the Bogotá Metropolitan Police and the Bogotá sectional Prosecutor’s Office were identified as the Millán Chaguado. This criminal structure was made up of members of the same family whose objective was the theft of high-end trucks such as Toyota TXL.
“In three months of investigation, since the first incident occurred by these criminals, all the information and evidence was monitored and analyzed so that today they are here arrested and under preventive measures. We call on citizens not to buy stolen car parts, nor from commercial establishments of dubious reputation. “There is a huge responsibility to not feed these criminal structures,” said César Restrepo, district security secretary.
EL TIEMPO contacted the investigator who led the operation against this family structure and who confirmed that this organization had plagued the communities of Kennedy, Engativá and Puente Aranda by having carried out at least 22 robberies of high-end trucks.
Authorities captured the gang dedicated to stealing high-end cars in Bogotá
Photo:Security Secretary
Previous work of the Judicial Police, such as telephone interceptions, sworn statements, judicial inspections, photographic recognitions, video analysis and interviews, allowed us to identify the modus operandi of this criminal group.
“The criminals profiled the victims and took advantage of what is called environmental criminology, which is the relationship between the victims and the perpetrator with the environment where the crimes are committed (…) “So they knew exactly when the victims would arrive home, when they would open the garage, and they knew exactly how to get in and approach them with firearms to intimidate them,” the investigator of the case explained.
Thanks to this operation, it was even possible to determine that in several of the reported cases, which led to the investigation, the victims were kidnapped and moved through various neighborhoods of the city. During the journey they were also beaten and then abandoned in the street. The researcher says that this technique is also part of the modus operandi that criminals use to ensure they instill enough fear in their victims so that they do not report the facts.
Four of the six members of the criminal group were members of the same family. These men and women used the same trucks they stole to commit other robberies and crimes, In this way, they avoid being tracked by the authorities and minimize the risk of their operations.
Authorities captured the gang dedicated to stealing high-end cars in Bogotá
Photo:Security Secretary
As has already become common among criminals operating in Bogotá, their greatest weakness is social networks. Investigators say that a key fact in finding these arrests was the use that the thieves gave to their internet accounts. where they published their movements and recorded every robbery they committed.
By dismantling this criminal structure, it was possible to affect criminal income from the illegal sale of high-end vehicle parts by at least 5 billion pesos.
“The vans were offered on illegal markets where they sold each one for 225 million pesos, so the criminal income amounted to 3 billion pesos (…) However, it is known that to maximize their profits, the criminals dismantled the cars to sell them in parts or sold them in other cities to minimize the chances of being found,” said the Sijín officer.
Authorities captured the gang dedicated to stealing high-end cars in Bogotá
Photo:Security Secretary
After the investigations it was learned that this was not the first time that the ‘Toyotanos’ gang He beat the people of Bogotá, nor that the theft of high-end trucks was the only criminal income from which he profited.
According to data from the Accusatory Oral Criminal System (SPOA), these criminals have records for the crimes of qualified and aggravated theft, trafficking, manufacturing or carrying of narcotics, domestic violence, damage to another’s property, personal injury, use of minors in the commission of crimes, escape of prisoners, receiving, carrying or possession of firearms, accessories, parts or ammunition and aggravated extortionate kidnapping.
JONATHAN TORO ROMERO
Bogotá Editorial
