In the midst of a joint operation carried out by the country's public forces, on April 17, the capture of Fausto Emilio Palacios Arteaga, alias Miura or Maldito Patrik, a member of the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC), also known as the Gulf Clan, was captured. The man would be the leader of the substructure “Manuel José Gaitán” of the aforementioned group and would operate in the department of Sucre.
Authorities detailed that the Colombian Navy, the Colombian Air Force and the National Police participated in the operation. The uniformed men reached the Pajonalito village, attached to San Onofre (Sucre), where they carried out the capture. In addition to apprehending the man, he was seized a pistol, 13 cartridges, a supplier, a notebook with information related to the GAO Gulf Clan and two cell phones.
The Colombian Army claims that this is an important capture because alias Maldito Patrik was on the cartel of the most wanted in the department of Sucre. He even offered a reward of 25 million pesos to anyone who gave information for his capture.
According to investigations by the authorities, alias Maldito Patrik has an extensive criminal record. The man would have been dedicated to crime for more than 10 years and would have joined the Gulf Clan in 2012, in Lorica, Córdoba. Then, in 2016, he would have moved to Santiago de Tolú, Sucre, to begin to commit crimes with the substructure “Manuel José Gaitán”, to which he was currently linked.
According to records, alias Maldito Patrik would have started to be the leader of that group last year. The alleged criminal was in charge of managing the drug trafficking routes that leave from the San Bernardo archipelago.
Thus, now that he is in the power of the authorities, the man will be prosecuted for the crimes of manufacturing, trafficking, carrying or possession of firearms and/or ammunition, as well as for the crime of concert to commit an aggravated crime for the purposes of homicide, drug trafficking and extortion. For the latter offense, alias Maldito Patrik had a valid arrest warrant against him issued by the Second Municipal Criminal Court with functions of street security control of Sincelejo.
According to the Public Force, this capture confirms its commitment to dismantle the criminal groups that perpetuate violence in the country.
“The security forces continue to carry out permanent offensive actions against organized crime in the Caribbean region, inflicting heavy blows to the criminal structures of the GAO Gulf Clan to prevent their temporary or permanent settlement in the subregion and in response to the foregoing by Early Warning No. 061 of 2018, which activated the prevention and rapid reaction system in the municipality of San Onofre, Sucre,” said the Army.
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