Prosecutor’s office captured members of gang dedicated to selling disrepaired chigüiro meat

After months of investigation, this Sunday, June 13, the nation’s attorney general’s office captured a criminal network that was indiscriminately hunting down chigüiros in the Colombian Orinoco to later murder them and sell their meat illegally. A total of five suspected members of the group have been captured and will be prosecuted for two offenses: aggravated conspiracy and illegal use of renewable resources.

“The prosecutor’s office, in collaboration with the Colombian police, has uncovered a criminal network known to promote the indiscriminate hunt for chigüiros and the illegal marketing of meat. Five alleged members of this organization were captured and brought before a judge, including two brothers, who are said to be the leaders of the criminal activity ”, informed the accusing entity through a press release

Those captured have been identified as Germán Rodríguez Romero, who is believed to be the main hunter, and Pedro Alberto Vargas Sanabria and César Augusto Becerra, alleged carriers and distributors. As for the leaders, it is the brothers Yeison Javier and Juan Camilo Sosa López, who coordinated and financed the criminal actions.

It was clarified that the investigation and detention process was the responsibility of the Special Directorate against Human Rights Violations of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Directorate of Protection and Special Services of the National Police (DIPRO). These entities had been working on the case for more than six months and during this time they had already seized rotten meat that had been supplied by the criminal network.

Between the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021, the authorities seized around four tonnes of chigüiro meat from this organization during two different operations carried out in Bogotá and Yopal (Casanare). During the procedure, the appalling sanitary conditions in which the product was stored and transported were evident.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Police ensure that the abduction of the animals took place mainly in the savannas and bodies of water in the department of Casanare. Once the criminals chased away the chigüiros, they were shot and the meat was then distributed to Bogotá, on the Atlantic coast, Santander, Norte de Santander and other parts of the country. According to the test equipment, the meat was mainly sold in markets and restaurants.

It is pointed out that in none of these stages, the offenders did not respect the hygiene measures stipulated by the national authorities. The Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Police specify that the chigüiro meat was brought to the reception points in vehicles equipped for transporting fish, in order to escape the authorities.

For these acts, a safeguards control judge indicted the five members of the organization. Vargas and Becerra, for having only been responsible for transporting and distributing meat, were only subjected to custodial measures in their turn to continue. On the contrary, the hunter Romero and the Sosa López brothers were subject to a custodial arrest measure in their place of residence.

The prosecutor’s office reiterated that it will continue to investigate this case and others that threaten the health of Colombians and against the country’s wildlife. Likewise, it was recalled that the chigüiro is a protected species and that all hunting activities must be authorized and supervised by the competent bodies.

“In Colombia, the chigüiro is a protected wild species classified as a natural heritage, the hunting of which is prohibited to guarantee its conservation and survival. Exceptionally, it is authorized with environmental permits and licenses, requirements that the affected criminal structure did not meet ”, the prosecutor’s office ended.

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