The trouble isn’t over for the alleged gang leader known as El Lunares, who was arrested immediately after being released from prison on Saturday.
Identified in news reports as Óscar Andrés Flores, El Lunares is believed to be the leader of the Mexico City gang called La Unión de Tepito.
He was first arrested on January 31 in Hidalgo state on drug and weapons charges, but a federal judge ordered his release on Saturday after ruling that due process was violated during his arrest.
However, upon leaving Mexico City’s Reclusorio Norte prison, Flores was once again taken into custody, this time on charges of express kidnapping and extortion. The arrest warrant for the crime was issued by a Mexico City judge on November 30 of last year.
The Mexico City Attorney General’s Office alleges that Flores and two other men kidnapped a businessman and took him to a safe house, where they beat and tortured him, demanding he pay them 10,000 pesos (US $533).
“They told him they would kill him if he didn’t give them the money,” the Attorney General’s report states.
Flores was believed to have called on spirits and demons for protection at an altar found by police during a raid on the gang’s Mexico City bunker in October of last year.
He evaded arrest then by escaping via secret tunnels and almost regained his freedom on Saturday, but his luck may have finally run out.
He will go before a judge on Friday morning to determine his current legal status.
Source: El Financiero (sp)
