The victim reported that four people, including three soldiers, held him at gunpoint, handcuffed him and, lThey demanded 30 thousand dollars to continue on their way to Cochabamba, abandoning it in the middle of nowhere.
The night of Wednesday, August 24 the driver of a truck loaded with contraband merchandise was violently approached by four individuals who were traveling in a red, unofficial sports vehicle.
The intervention was three kilometers before reaching the control bar of the Confital sector on the Cochabamba-Oruro highway. The truck was passed by a sports car that abruptly brought the heavy vehicle to an immediate stop. three soldiers boarded the motorizedreported Lionel León Castillo, head of the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office.
The three subjects allegedly held the driver at gunpoint, handcuffed him and indicated that he was going to be taken to the customs area. of Pasto Grande because he was transporting contraband merchandise.
According to the victim, military officials avoided identifying themselves, did not want to give their namesanother thing that catches his attention is that once the motorized person passed through the gate to enter Oruro, The uniformed men took off their helmets, masks and anything else that could identify them as members of the armed forcesin addition to covering themselves with blankets and jackets as if they were civilians.
The truck driver stated that those involved demanded an amount of 30,000 dollars from him to release the truck and its cargo so that it could continue on its way to Cochabamba.
At great insistence, the carrier was granted the right to make a phone call and this was made to a friend who pretended to be the owner of the contraband cargo, informing him of everything that had happened. The insight of this person made him immediately contact the Customs Operational Control Unit (COA) to report the case.who in turn, informed the Prosecutor’s Office about the act of corruption, detailed the prosecutor.
The fourth involved, dressed in civilian clothes, remained aboard the sports vehicle and closely following the truck. Strangely, he received detailed information from other people who are also being investigated; These kept him informed of all the actions that were scheduled and finally alerted him about the operation that should be carried out in search of the truck and the captive driver and he replied to the three individuals dressed as soldiers.
Some time later, the victim was abandoned in a place in the middle of nowhere, while the four criminals escaped, León detailed.
The driver stated that for some observed details could identify one of the military, this detail encouraged the prosecution to order the arrest of all the military agents of the Customs Immediate Reaction Group (GRIA) on duty. Action that was coordinated with the Department of Criminal Analysis and Intelligence (DACI) of the Police.
In that act, one of the managers indicates that one of the officials had requested an extraordinary permit, he was not present, but the investigators insist that he must be present and they make him go to the place. Immediately an identification parade takes place, where it was the physical features, mostly of the face, that the victim was able to recognize and point out to the official who had special permission, the prosecutor pointed out.
The soldier was apprehended for the alleged crime of corruption, after the identification parade. is investigated by the Special Force to Fight Crime (Felcc) and the Public Ministry for the crime of concussion.
The Public Ministry handles the hypothesis that this military official requested this extraordinary permit in order, presumably, to commit these illegal acts of corruption. We are certain that other civil officials as well as military officials are involved in these events, the prosecutor pointed out.
