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The other case is that of Albanian-Ecuadorian Artur Tushi, 44 years old, who was shot 11 times outside the Santafé shopping center, in municipality 14 (El Poblado), after armed men stopped him while he was walking towards the house where he was staying.
Four murders of foreign nationals recorded in recent years in Medellin, Colombia, are believed to be the responsibility of what is called “La Oficina Premium,” a group of hired killers that allegedly focused on executing “high-value” foreigners in the capital of Antioquia and other cities in the country. An Albanian, a Mexican, an American and a Canadian were the victims, according to initial clues that investigators have in the case.
"A source gave us information about these four murders of foreigners," declared an investigator of the case related to this structure, after the capture of nine of its accused members inside a house in the Kennedy neighborhood, municipality 7 (Robledo), northwest of Medellin.
One of the crimes they are accused of is that of Mexican Horacio Pérez Ledezma, 54, a technology product dealer, who was attacked in a restaurant in the Provenza area of El Poblado while he was having lunch.
Elder José Arteaga Hernández, known as El Costeño or Chipi, who is also suspected of being implicated in the murder of presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay, is also being investigated in this case.
Based on the information collected by the authorities and what is intended to be found on the computers, it is expected that the connection between this structure and the criminals being prosecuted for the murder will be fully determined.
The other case is that of Albanian-Ecuadorian Artur Tushi, 44 years old, who was shot 11 times outside the Santafé shopping center, in municipality 14 (El Poblado), after armed men stopped him while he was walking towards the house where he was staying.
This crime is believed to be linked to human trafficking and narcotics businesses, involving Albanian, Ecuadorian and Colombian criminal gangs.
Authorities did not provide details about the other two murders, neither of the American citizen nor the Canadian, even though the latter nationality has only committed two similar murders in the last three years.
One of the cases occurred on January 31 of last year in Mall del Indio, when Canadian Jonathan Christopher Acevedo García, 42, was murdered with Colombian parents, in a crime believed to have been ordered by former Olympic athlete Ryan James Wedding, after it was discovered that the deceased would be a key witness against him, which led to his arrest and the destruction of his organization.
The other Canadian killed in the city was Jesse Marcel Arrigo, in an incident inside another restaurant, this time on Las Palmas Street, near the San Diego neighborhood. The deceased was identified as an International Peace Commissioner, but is believed to have been implicated in several fraud cases in his country.
The mayor of Medellin, Federico Gutiérrez, stated that this structure, which he named "La Oficina Premium" for the selective crimes it committed, is believed to be linked to murders committed in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Chile, which are believed to have been ordered by transnational organizations.
"Of the 29 cell phones found, most had lines from other countries and we are investigating which contacts were made through these devices. We also found documents linking this organization to the United States, with whom we are providing all the requested information," said the mayor.
The price for crimes
The payment to execute foreigners was between $400,000 and $500,000 (1.465 to 1.830 million Colombian pesos), depending on the victim's structure and profile.
It is being investigated whether these payments were made through transfers to accounts in tax havens or cryptocurrencies, to make the transaction difficult to trace.
During the operation against this structure, eight firearms were seized, including a machine gun and several revolvers. “The weapons will be subjected to the Unified Ballistic Comparison System to determine their possible participation in the crimes,” Gutiérrez added.
Animal sacrifices
This structure's connections with witchcraft are believed to be very close, as during the arrests an altar with religious figures and candles used for esoteric practices before committing the crimes was found.
It was also found that these individuals had sacrificed at least four goats as part of these rituals, to cleanse, according to them, the guilt for the crimes they planned to commit.
These rituals are believed to be used for two purposes: for protection and to defraud clients who used their services, receiving large sums of money for unfulfilled promises.
They also filmed each ritual and sent it to clients to convince them that they were protected from external forces that would help them carry out the crimes./ EL COLOMBIANO
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