A gang led by a man who called himself “Harry Potter” drugged, kidnapped, and robbed two US troops at a bar in Colombia.
Jefferson Arango Castellanos has now been brought to the United States. On Monday, he made his first court appearance in Miami, where he was charged with conspiracy, kidnapping, and assault against internationally protected people.
He and the other two people he is accused of plotting with face a maximum sentence of life in jail if they are found guilty.
Prosecutors say the kidnapping happened on March 5, 2020, after the two soldiers went to a sports bar in Bogota to watch a soccer game involving the US Women’s National Team.
The criminal complaint says that both guys disappeared and didn’t show up for work the next day.
Investigators say that the victims’ phones, wallets, and other belongings were stolen, and when they were found, they had cuts and bruises all over their bodies.
Both guys couldn’t remember what happened, and tests showed that they had both been given tranquilizers before the incident. After that, their bank cards were used at several stores and at least one ATM.
On December 30, 2020, Colombian police caught Mr. Arango Castellanos for a series of robberies that were unrelated but followed the same pattern.
Fox News said that while he was in custody, he talked to the FBI and admitted to giving both troops drugs and taking their things.
The tweet below confirms the news:
Two American soldiers were drugged, kidnapped and robbed at a sports bar in Colombia, federal prosecutors say. One of the suspects in a roofie robbery ring has just been extradited to face justice in Miami. https://t.co/CSFBy37IxT
— Michael Ruiz (@mikerreports) May 8, 2023
Prosecutors say that the suspect put the tranquilizer in the victims’ drinks while their attention was on his female partners.
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Court papers say that he got one of the victims to give him his PIN number by making them enter it on a cellphone to make a payment.
On May 11, Mr. Arango Castellanos will be brought before a judge.
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