The suspected leader of the violent Mexico City criminal organization La Unión de Tepito and seven other presumed gang members were arrested yesterday.
The alleged capo, identified only as David N., was apprehended at an address in the Mexico City borough of Álvaro Obregón during an operation carried out by Federal Police, marines, agents from the federal Attorney General’s office (PGR) and Mexico City police.
Omar García Harfuch, chief of the federal Criminal Investigation Agency (AIC), said that the alleged criminal, also known as “El Pistache,” is suspected of distributing illegal drugs in the capital and extorting restaurants and nightclubs.
He is also linked to the murder of members of rival gangs as well as that of the founder of La Unión de Tepito in September last year.
More recently, gunmen dressed as mariachi musicians — believed to be members of La Unión de Tepito — last month killed five people and wounded six more in Plaza Garibaldi, a square popular with tourists in downtown Mexico City.
One target of the attack is believed to have been Sergio Flores Concha, the suspected leader of a rival criminal group known as La Fuerza Anti-Unión.
In addition, David N. is “possibly” involved in human trafficking and sexual exploitation carried out in the Mexico City neighborhoods of Polanco, Condesa, Roma and Juárez as well as Ciudad Satélite in the México state municipality of Naucalpan, García said.
El Pistache’s “main collaborator,” Daniel Eduardo N., was also arrested alongside his presumed boss while a further six suspected gang members were detained in the middle-class neighborhood of Navarte, located around six kilometers south of downtown Mexico City.
García said the six gang members were meeting at the time of their arrest at three different addresses to “carry out the financial administration of resources obtained from different, possibly illicit activities.”
The detained men fired at the law enforcement officials when they became aware of their presence, the AIC chief said.
The latter shot back and wounded one suspected gang member who was taken to hospital and is in stable condition, García added.
In addition to making the eight arrests, the security forces seized more than 30 firearms, ammunition, packages of drugs and tactical and communication equipment.
“With the capture of these individuals, a strong blow was dealt to this criminal group that is responsible for several acts of violence in Mexico City and the metropolitan area,” García said.
David N. is believed to have succeeded a man known as “El Betito” at the head of La Unión de Tepito, which is based in the notoriously dangerous Mexico City neighborhood of the same name.
Roberto Moyado Esparza or Roberto Fabián Miranda, who investigations linked to a number of executions and beheadings in Mexico City and neighboring México state, was arrested in August.
A report published in the newspaper El Universal today said that El Pistache traveled in luxury cars, dressed in designer clothes, vacationed in Caribbean coast resort cities, cultivated friendships with television personalities and dated celebrities.
The 32-year-old suspected criminal leader owns houses in affluent areas of Mexico City and México state, where he introduced himself to neighbors as a businessman and television producer, El Universal said.
In March last year, David N. was imprisoned on homicide charges but despite three people testifying against him, a judge ruled that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute him and he was released six months later.
Source: El Universal (sp), Expansión (sp)
