Eleven members of the ‘First Line’, responsible for acts of vandalism in Bogotá, captured

The Metropolitan Police of Bogotá confirmed the capture of eleven members of the gang known as the ‘PPP’, responsible for leading and orchestrating at least 16 acts of vandalism in the country’s capital, and who would be members of the ‘First Line’.

Their captures materialized after more than a year of investigations, the analysis of more than four thousand hours of videointerception of 50 telephone lines18 interviews with witnesses and victims, 18 criminal news, six sworn statements and extraction of information from different profiles on social networks.

Furthermore, the authorities had a undercover agent which allowed investigators to collect evidentiary material to identify the criminal actions of the so-called radical movement ‘PPP’, Clandestine Brigade for the people and by the people.

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Modus operandi

As revealed by General Giovanni Cristancho, commander of the Bogotá Metropolitan Police, his way of committing crimes consisted of entering with fake IDs to pose as students from different public universities.

“After this, they met inside these educational centers and located strategic points to change clothes, overalls, masks and hoods. Subsequently, they made the elements or dangerous devices (potato bombs and Molotov cocktails), which they used to generate vandalism against public forces, Transmilenio stations and SITP buses,” said General Cristancho.

Furthermore, the general revealed that “they always covered their faces with hoods or masks, their hands with bait gloves and placed plastic bags in their shoes to avoid being identified by the authorities. Likewise, they communicated through instant messaging such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, to summon the members and thus generate these violent acts.”

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The captured

Among those captured is its leader, alias Salvatoreleader of this movement; He was in charge of calling for acts of vandalism and ordering which members should carry the dangerous devices.

“It was established that it would be linked in 10 acts of vandalism in the years 2024 and 2025, where several SITP buses, institutional vehicles and damage to the infrastructure of the Transmilenio University City Station were incinerated. Furthermore, this man constantly published on a social network the different violent acts carried out by this movement and would have fled on September 17 to Manta-Ecuador after learning that he was wanted by the authorities for these events,” added the commander.

Besides, aliases Tolima, Copete and Uneducatedwho were the coordinators and were in charge of carrying elements such as gasoline or explosive material, to later be thrown into the different violent spaces.

Similarly, ‘Tolima’ was in charge of bringing and purchasing the explosives from Medellín, sending them in parcels to avoid control by the authorities; In a search procedure in 2024, he was found around a kilo of explosive materialwhich would be used to manufacture potato bombs inside public universities.

On the other hand, No Educated would be responsible for the burning of a bus in front of the District University in 2024 and would have traveled to Chile in 2019 during the acts of vandalism in that country, to organize radical groups in evasion techniques.

The same way, aka Chimoi, Topo, Chinche San, El Pri, Garú, 83 and Slow They would be the energizers or determiners; Under the command of the leader, they manufactured dangerous elements by hand to later be launched in violent acts.

Finally, alias Garú, on September 11, 2025, while making a potato bomb inside the National University, suffered an explosion that caused him to lose his life. three fingers of his left hand.

The proceedings

In these 13 search procedures and search carried out in the towns of Ciudad Bolívar, Usme, San Cristóbal and Suba, characteristic items of clothing used to commit the acts were seized, 1 reduced lethality weaponexplosive material (gunpowder), 13 mobile devices and four computers.

A judge of the Republic dictated to them security measure in prison.

“The Metropolitan Police of Bogotá reiterates its commitment to continue carrying out actions and strategies against high-impact crimes that affect the capital of the republic. Likewise, to report any type of criminal act through the emergency line 123 or to the nearest CAI,” concluded General Giovanni Cristancho.