Authorities in the department of Huila captured three men accused of committing the crime of extortion, two in Pitalito and one in Isnos.
The timely complaint was key to the rapid action of the authorities, who will now bring the alleged extortionists to justice.
The first intervention took place in Pitalito, where two individuals, using intimidation through messages and pamphlets, posed as members of an armed group to extort money from a merchant. The victim, who had previously delivered a van as part of a payment last November, was again threatened with extortion of $60 million. The operation resulted in the capture of the individuals at the time of receiving the alleged payment, and the truck was recovered for return to the owners.
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“For two months, the victim had been receiving extortion calls in which, as a strategy of psychological pressure, the criminals posed as members of a paramilitary group, to demand an initial sum of 60 million pesos,” the Army said.
In Isnos, the Police Gaula captured an individual who, under the same modality, demanded $10 million from a farmer to avoid an attempt on his life. The victim, following the extortionist’s instructions, left the money in an agreed upon location, and the subject was caught red-handed when she tried to pick it up.
Lieutenant Colonel Henry Alexander Muñoz Pinilla, commander in charge of the police in Huila, reported that the three individuals were placed at the disposal of the competent judicial authority to answer for the alleged crime of extortion. In addition, he called on citizens to report any situation of extortion to number 165 and contribute to combating this criminal scourge.
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