The detainees face charges of qualified and aggravated robbery, as well as theft by computer means.
The Aburrá Valley Metropolitan Police dismantled a criminal structure dedicated to seducing tourists through dating applications and then leaving them defenseless and looting their bank accounts. In a joint operation, authorities captured three women in Medellín already a man in Cartagenawho have already been sheltered with a security measure in a prison center.
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The “modus operandi”: deception and scopolamine
According to research led by the Protection and Special Services Sectioncriminals selected their victims—mainly foreign citizens—through digital platforms. After gaining their trust, they arranged meetings in hotels or short-term apartments, where they were given psychotropic substances in their drinks to render them unconscious.
One of the captured women was in charge of supplying the substances, while the rest of the group played roles of seduction and subsequent execution of the fraudulent transactions.
Cases that exposed the network
The investigation was based on two critical cases that occurred during 2025 that allowed the gang to be tracked:
- The theft of the 200 million: An Australian citizen lost consciousness after a date at a short-term rental property. The criminals carried out transactions for $180 million pesos and stole items valued in others $20 million.
- Attack in El Poblado: Two Americans were drugged by three women in an apartment in the El Poblado neighborhood. The balance of the robbery amounted to $80 million pesos between banking transactions and personal items.
Justice and prevention
The detainees face charges of qualified and aggravated robbery, as well as theft by computer means. After the guarantee control hearings, a judge determined that they represent a danger to society and ordered their transfer to prison.
Given the recurrence of these cases in the Aburrá Valley, the National Police He reiterated to tourists to avoid encounters with strangers in private places, not to neglect their drinks and to report any suspicious profiles on dating applications to line 123.
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