Blog del Narco: Students in Acapulco form Gang that Kidnaps, Ransoms and Kills

All of the young men were studying at the Institute of Technology of Acapulco and were all well regarded in their school and in their social circles. But they formed a band of kidnappers and murderers who showed extreme cruelty and an absolute lack of scruples. They kidnapped their college buddies and then charged ransom, they killed many so they could not identify them. They come from families of influence and the parents of victims fear that they may soon go free … and seek vengeance.

On the night of January 4, 2013 the parents received a phone call from strangers who told him they had kidnapped their son Arturo Rios Ceballos, 18, ​​a student of engineering Acapulco Institute of Technology (ITA). They demanded a ransom of 800,000 pesos.

Doña Elisa could only muster 45 thousand peso and the kidnappers agreed to that amount. They told the father to get dressed in white and leave the money in a plastic bag on a lone street. The family did all that was instructed but their son was never returned.

Three days later, on January 7, the body of the dead boy was found. He was found hanging from a rope after being tortured.

Doña Elisa recalled the last phone conversation with his son, the same day of his kidnapping. His son had been invited join Cahori on an outing.

The police located and questioned Cahori and discovered in his cell phone videos of young people being subjected to torture. He confessed that he belonged to a band of students ITA dedicated to kidnapping and murdering their own fellow students. Among his victims was Arturo Rios.

Soon the nine members of the murderous band were captured. In their cell phones authorities discovered more videos of them torturing students that had been sent the families of the victims to intimidate; also they had record of calls asking where they were demanding ransoms.

All of the murderers were students ITA, had good grades, their behavior records were impeccable and by all appearances looked like “good guys.”

Between 2010 and January 2013 the “Gang of Cahori” as is known by authorities- kidnapped and murdered 39 young Acapulqueños, as estimated by relatives of the victims.

Their modus operandi was as follows: first chose some peers, asked out, take him to a safe house and there you kidnap them. After receiving the ransom, they would hang the victim with light cable and dismembered with an ax. Threw his remains randomly around the area. They even used to go to funerals of their victims to offer condolences to the families.

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Published in Latino Daily News