'Los Fantasticos' is captured, in less than 15 seconds a motorcycle disappeared in Santander

In an operation carried out for months by the Criminal Investigation Section, SIJIN, in conjunction with the Attorney General's Office, they discovered a gang operating in Bucaramanga and its metropolitan area, which was dedicated to stealing motorcycles. The authorities learned that the criminals called themselves 'The Fantastics' who managed to steal the vehicles in 10 seconds.

According to the Prosecutor's Office, the gang extended its operations to other departments, seeking to pressure victims to obtain more money from extortion: “According to the investigation, this criminal group generated monthly profits of 150 million pesos as a result of the thefts. Likewise, it was established that motorcycles whose owners did not pay for extortion were taken to Santa Rosa del Sur in the department of Bolivar to be illegally traded.”

The operation captured 8 suspected members of the criminal gang, including: Helman Andrés Murcia, Harold Herney Celis, Johan Sneyder Celis, Lina Maria Castro, Sneyder Mauricio López and Jefferson Andrés Díaz, Stiven Eusebio Barreto and Cristina Arley Medina. These persons were charged with alleged involvement and/or responsibility for the crimes of: extortion and aggravated reception; aggravated crime concert for extortion purposes and qualified theft. All were left with prison insurance measures except Stiven Barreto and Cristina Medina, who will serve their sentences in house imprisonment.

The National Police revealed that, according to their statistics, in Bucaramanga 3 motorcycles are stolen a day, but, the 'modus operandi' of 'Los Fantasticos' was to see which vehicles were abandoned or drifting, then they “felt” the terrain to see how to get out with the motorcycle, to check that it was not blocked. After committing the theft, a second person contacted the victims in order to demand payment for the return of their properties, which were estimated to be about 2 or 3 million pesos; if people did not agree to pay for these threats, the gang would transfer the motorcycles to municipalities in the south of the department of Bolívar where they marketed them entirely, or, by pieces, with inhabitants of the region.

In fact, the mayor's office of Bucaramanga determined that, with a cut in March of this year, 2022, 90 cases of motorcycle thefts have been filed, which represents a decrease of 15% compared to last year. In addition, they estimate that the number of captures has increased by 11 per cent, which means that, on average, 19 people are arrested daily in the city for committing criminal acts.

The figures are in contrast to those presented by the Bucaramanga Metropolitan Police, which reports that they have captured 53 people for motorcycle theft so far this year, this being an 18% increase compared to its figures for the previous year. They also claimed that they have recovered 159 of these vehicles.

In recent days it was proposed to hold a Metropolitan Council to consider the restriction of the barbecue in Bucaramanga and its metropolitan area. The council of the capital of Santander points out that motorcycles lend themselves to facilitate street theft. According to Interior Secretary Melissa Franco, these ideas would be motivated by the restrictions imposed in Bogotá.

According to the mayor's office of Bucaramanga, all measures taken will be socialized and debated by citizens, with the intention of not affecting individuals. For example, some cases are considered, because although many people do not live in the city, if they live in nearby municipalities, but must enter the capital for various reasons, this would directly affect them. Therefore, the administration will seek to properly articulate all measures.

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