The Prosecutor’s Office dealt a hard blow to the criminal structure ‘Los Pachelly’ that would be involved in extortions and forced displacements in Antioquia

• The alleged coordinators of the criminal group, known as ‘Mono Cuco’ and ‘El Gordo’, were arrested and prosecuted along with 15 alleged members.
• They allegedly demanded money from inhabitants, businessman and transporters in Valle de Aburrá Valley to allow them to carry out their daily activities.

The Attorney General’s Office gathered several complaints and obtained evidence to reveal the criminal structure ‘Los Pachelly’, which are liable for multiple criminal actions against the population and the productive sector of Medellín, Bello, Barbosa, Copacabana, Girardota (Antioquia).

In proceedings carried out with the National Police in the municipality of Bello, north area of Valle de Aburrá, 17 alleged members of the illegal organization were arrested. In the procedures, a firearm, ammunition, cell phones, 278 grams of amphetamines and one kilogram of coca base paste were seized.

These people allegedly participated in different criminal acts that occurred between 2016 and 2024. In one of these incidents, they apparently invaded a property’s terrace in Bello (Antioquia) and started a construction. Due to the property owner’s disagreement, they demanded money from her amid death threats. Eventually, she was forced to leave the property.

In another incident that took place in December 2023, an alleged member of the National Police was intimidated with firearms to force him to pay 3 million pesos. Likewise, there were extortions against residents, businessman and transporters to allow them to work, park their vehicles and carry out daily activities in sectors where ‘Los Pachelly’ have illegal presence. In some cases, the victims stated that they were attacked with sharp weapons and blunt objects, and held against their will.

A prosecutor from the Sectional Office in Medellín charged the 17 people, according to their liability, with conspiracy to commit a crime, extortion, attempted extortion, kidnapping for ransom (all aggravated); forced displacement, personal injuries; trafficking, manufacture or possession of narcotics; manufacture, trafficking or possession of firearms; illicit allocation of real estate or personal property, use of minors to commit crimes and invasion of land.

The defendants did not plead guilty to the charges and according to the judge, they must serve a prison sentence. The decision concerns Mauricio Enrique Álvarez Avendaño, alias Mono Cuco; and Yeison Leandro Cárdenas Ramírez, alias El Gordo, alleged coordinators of ‘Los Pachelly’.

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.