Saturday 26 January 2013

Gang members surrender to troops in Colombia

Fifteen members of the Urabeños, one of Colombia's main criminal gangs, surrendered at an unspecified date to the navy in the district of Pilizá on Colombia's Pacific coast, El Espectador reported on 25 January. The group, led by a gangster dubbed El Tigre, apparently decided to surrender together, arriving at a meeting point in two boats that also carried seven women and 13 children or teenagers; these were perhaps relatives being taken under protection. The group was taken to Quibdó, capital of the Chocó department; arms and ammunition were also confiscated. The navy has stated that some 40 members of criminal gangs were detained on Colombia's Pacific coast in January 2013.