A criminal group made up of former police officers who used the social network Instagram to extort people was dismantled. Details of the procedure were aired through a video posted on the social networks of the Strategic Operations Group (Goes), attached to the Ministry of the Interior, Justice and Peace.
The investigations began after Goes received complaints from people from whom they requested money, claiming that they knew of an alleged dark past. During the investigation, Goes detected that those who were behind these extortions are former officials of the Miranda state police. These former agents created a user on the social network Instagram called “sentinela2025” alias “el dark” through which they carried out the extortions. That is why the Goes determined that we are in the presence of “a serious case of identity theft.”
One of the members of the aforementioned gang was detained by Goes and was identified as Jesús Ángel Giménez, alias El Acuático, while the rest of the gang was fully identified.
One of the messages that the aforementioned criminal group sent to one of its victims reads like this: “Good afternoon Hernán, this is where the dark one sends you, how are you, I’m going to speak to you clearly and precisely. I know that you are laundering money from drug trafficking. You are dirty in the circuit. I know many things about where you have the oil warehouses. Your merchandise that you bought with money from drug trafficking. I know that you move with USD, but I am coming for good: it is on your side whether we are friends or enemies until death.”
These individuals used to tell their victims, to intimidate them, that they were related to criminal gangs in the state of Zulia and that they could also implicate them in a criminal investigation because they had files in the Venezuelan justice system.
”The Goes reaffirms its commitment, our priority is to guarantee the safety of Venezuelans and categorically neutralize all groups that intend to generate violence, excesses and use the law for criminal purposes,” the publication concludes.
Inspector Carlos Peña
From the Pedro Zaraza municipality (Guárico), victims report that they are calling them to request between 30 and 50 dollars in exchange for excluding them from an investigation. The caller identifies himself as ”Inspector Carlos Peña, Cicpc Computer Crimes, license plate KP2311-01”. The call is made from 0416.750.16.90 to inform the interlocutor that a criminal investigation is open where prosecutor Marjorie Baloa appears as a victim.
By virtue of this, the alleged inspector Carlos Peña tells the interlocutor that said scam amounts to 150 thousand bolivars and it was carried out from that telephone line. ”We want to find the location and tracking of the line with your support,” the inspector asks.
In another procedure, Cicpc agents detained Elieser José Silva García (26) in Cabimas (Zulia), after determining that he was engaged in phishing, that is, the use of digital techniques to steal money from bank accounts.
Those affected are clients of the Bank of Venezuela, who were made to believe through advertisements that they had been approved for a loan, the Cicpc reported.
