Preventive detention orders were issued against four alleged extortionists of street vendors and transporters downtown Medellín

A judge imposed prison sentences against four alleged members of La Terraza criminal group who committed crimes in Medellín. The defendants were allegedly involved in the commission of extortions from street vendors and food transporters in the so-called Comuna 10 in Antioquia.

The people involved are: Eduardo Altamirano Cortés, alias Zarco; Steven Arley Alarcón Moreno, alias Duende; Juan Pablo Salcedo González, alias Negro and Daniel Alonso Ríos Acevedo, alias Dany.

The group La Terraza operates in San Benito, Avenida Ferrocarril, Minorista, Barrio Triste and El Raudal sectors of Comuna 10 in Medellín, which is involved in drug trafficking, extortion and forced displacement, among other crimes.

The Prosecutor’s Office determined that the criminal structure demanded different amounts of money from its victims, depending on the activity. If victims refused to pay, workers and merchants were threatened with death.

One of the cases took place on March 7th in San Benito sector in Medellín when the driver of a truck transporting soft drinks and his two assistants were detained by armed men who told them that the company in which they were working at, had not complied with some payments. Therefore, they should retain the vehicle.

According to their individual responsibilities, the Prosecutor’s Office charged the defendants with criminal conspiracy, kidnapping for ransom and extortion; all aggravated. They did not plead guilty to the charges.

The Office of the Attorney General makes this information public for reasons of general interest.

The information contained in this press release corresponds to the narration of the objective news provided by the officials in charge of carrying out criminal investigations within the Office of the Attorney General. By the time this communication is disclosed, the legal status of the people mentioned is still pending to be resolved by the competent judicial authority, always under the presumption of innocence contemplated by Article 29 of the Political Constitution and Article 7 of Law 906 of 2004.