fell while storming an apartment in Caballito

The robbery had been perfect. Edgar Alejandro Valero Valero (43) He was one of the hundreds of thousands of tourists who came to Russia for the 2018 World Cup. But Edgar, a Colombian like his traveling companions, was not interested in football. He had arrived in Kazan (820 kilometers from Moscow) because of what was going to happen at the Kazanskaya Yarmarka exhibition center.

Valero and his partners were robbery specialists at jewelers’ conventions. They traveled the world doing the same – they found out about the different events online and played. They lived in Bogota. They also invested their boots there, which they only stole abroad.

One of the days of the convention, a suitcase was stolen from a security worker at the Seven Diamonds jewelry stand. Speaking perfect English, they pretended to want to help him. But they left with the suitcase. The jewelry was valued at $ 2.1 million. That was in July 2018. Valero was not identified by the Russian Interpol office until September of the same year. And an international arrest warrant was issued.

They had no news of his fate for almost a year. Knowing his customs of traveling to fly to Europe, Asia and the United States, among many other destinations, his residence was unknown. Until he showed up at the Buenos Aires city police station. It was September 1, 2019. At noon that day He entered a building owned by José María Moreno at 600, in Caballito. He was accompanied by an accomplice. They entered with a key, without forcing the lock. And they headed for the garage. They would surely wait a few minutes to decide on one of the houses, to loot them.

The Colombians preferred to enter this time to rob the services of the city of Buenos Aires because they thought the managers were taking a nap or had lunch. But this time the doorman saw them on security cameras. He called 911 and they were detained.

They were charged with the crime of “home invasion”. As he had no criminal record in Argentina, the prosecutor’s office, the defendants and their defenders accepted a six-month suspended sentence. Forty-eight hours later, his accomplice is released. Edgar Alejandro Valero Valero, no. Russia’s extradition request left him in detention. He entered a federal prison (Devoto, Marcos Paz or Ezeiza) and remained there until March 8, 2021. That day they took him to Ezeiza airport and were extradited to Russia. .

Until then, one more expulsion. The surprise was known last week, when Valero Valero said: he said the jewelry was still in Kazan. He pointed to a forest in which he swore he had buried the booty. Using radars, the Police found them: they were 4 bags with diamonds and jewelry. All intact. The Colombian himself, handcuffed and surrounded by prison officers, indicated where they dug until they found the jewelry. It is believed that he will spend the next 10 years in Russian prisons.

Underground

“Oops dad. These are hot countries. You can’t get away with what you steal. That’s why a lot of Colombians bury their boots and then come back and get them. Or they send other people,” he said. he. Bugle a Colombian who robbed Canada, Argentina, Brazil and Chile.

Some of the “hot” countries he talks about are, besides Russia, Japan, Malaysia, Dubai, Singapore and the United States. In general, the bands of “botineros” (as thieves of jewelry bags are called in Colombian slang) they have international reducers who go to where they need to buy what has been stolen.

The problem is that in some countries, like those mentioned, the authorities are convinced that they are not local thieves. Thus, they strengthen their security at airports. And the reducers do not dare to travel with jewelry. They prefer to let the time pass.

The Colombian custom of traveling to commit crimes began in the late 1950s. Legend has it that it all started with a thief from Bogotá who went to New York to escape the Colombian police. He had committed murder. He was an expert in snatching watches in central Bogotá.

Maybe that’s why one afternoon he went to visit the Fifth Avenue jewelry store. He saw a briefcase he liked, entered the jewelry store behind his victim and stole it. Without violence. Without anyone noticing. He took the briefcase and left. He opened it at the hotel. He found tens of thousands of dollars. He called his colleagues in Bogotá and invited them to travel. His group was the first. But over the months, more have appeared. In Colombia, thieves who operate abroad are called “international”.

For decades, they have chosen jewelry areas in much of the world. They did all kinds of modalities: in addition to stealing whole suitcases, there were those who pretended to be customers and stole loose clothing or jewelry. But the more experienced aimed at conventions. They knew the best jewelers in the world would do it. But at the same time, they stole cell phones and wallets, leaked banks and robbed homes.

The “Internationals” started arriving in Buenos Aires between 2007 and 2009. They came, more than anything, under the category “Apartamenteros”. That is, the Colombian version of porteño scruchante: entering houses and apartments in the absence of their owners. Then their arrests for “freight” became common: they marked the victims in parking lots in downtown Buenos Aires, followed them and if they saw that they entered banks, caves or financial institutions, they broke. a car window to steal briefcase they were carrying.

In general, each “international” is a specialist in one modality. But he commits all kinds of thefts.

As he could know Bugle, Valero Valero is from the south of Bogotá. He grew up in a slum in the poorest part of town. A good part of his family is devoted to the same thing. They are one of the most recognized families among the “Internationals”. The robberies allowed them, among other things, to move to a better neighborhood, to travel the world and to invest in different businesses.

He hadn’t just come to Argentina to escape Russia. As this newspaper learned, on August 1, 2009, he registered with AFIP. As its main activity it declared “Retail sale of textile articles nec, except clothing (including retail sale of rugs, carpets, etc.)”. He took out the Argentinian DNI and the cooked and spoon number. He established an address in Hipólito Yrigoyen at 1300, CABA.

Its activities started in November 2013. Later, it registered two more: “Retail sale of household articles nec in specialized stores” and “Retail sale of textile articles nec except clothing”.

GL