On August 26, the Ecuadorean police detained two alleged members of a gang dedicated to stealing medicine to sell to the Colombian FARC guerrilla group, the agency announced.
On August 26, the Ecuadorean police detained two alleged members of a gang dedicated to stealing medicine to sell to the Colombian FARC guerrilla group, the agency announced.
The thieves were detained early in the morning, after assaulting a pharmacy in southern Quito from which they took antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, and flu remedies, among other products, an agent who participated in the operation and who withheld his identity told reporters.
“We know that this medicine goes from here to (the border city of) Lago Agrio and (the province of) Esmeraldas to be sold to the FARC. It’s a well-organized gang of around seven or eight individuals,” the uniformed police officer indicated.
The suspects were detained following a pursuit of the vehicle in which they fled, during which shots were exchanged but no one was hurt, the report indicated.
“There are several complaints about this truck in the northern sector (of Quito); it was being sought previously,” the agent declared. According to a police report cited by the press, at least five pharmacies in the southern part of the capital have been looted so far in August.