Some individuals robbed passengers and the driver of an interdepartmental public service van on Friday night, when they were traveling at the height of the kilometer 70 of the road to the seabetween Juan de Acosta (Atlántico) and Lomita Arena (Bolívar).
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According to witness accounts, two individuals posing as travelers suddenly stood up and asked the operator of the vehicle to stop. They opened the door and three more individuals got in, including a woman.
The latter fired a shot into the air and her accomplices began to take away the belongings of the passengers, from computers and phones even personal documents.
After achieving the robbery, the group of criminals got out of the van and fled in a vehicle that was waiting for them, while the victims, among whom were international tourists, did not get over the scare.
The complaint of a Canadian tourist
In a video published on Tuesday by the Cartagena newspaper El Universal on its social networks, the canadian tourist Juan Carlos Barrientos denounced what happened that night in the van.
He said that three weeks ago he came to the country to visit relatives and get to know Colombia, with the intention of promoting it as a tourist destination while documenting his trip.
“On Friday, February 11, I was on my way to Cartagena from Santa Marta on a bus from the Berlinas transportation company, which left at 4:15 p.m. After passing through Barranquilla, three men and a woman who came as passengers got up and there was a shot,” he said.
Barrientos added that they began to remove their belongings and assaulted some women. While they took away his cell phone, wallet, passport, headphones, speaker, photographic equipment, computer, drone and cash.
The content of the hard drive was the most important, because they include a lot of work, photographic material and things for clients
“The contents of the hard drive were the most important, because they include a lot of work, photographic material and things for clients. After the robbery, the van drove to a police security point, they asked for a brief account of the event and asked few questions, ”she recounted.
There he took advantage and called some friends who were waiting for him in Cartagena to inform him of what had happened to him and asked them to pick him up when he arrived.
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The long process to file a complaint
They said to wait for details, but I haven’t received them yet
“At the Cartagena airport, we tried to get the police to take our theft complaint. But they said that only loss could be reported. I tried to do it online, but the complaint page did not work”, recalled Barrientos.
The authorities suggested that they go to the Sijin on Saturday but, according to what he said when he arrived, they were told that the people who received the theft complaint They only work from Monday to Friday..
“I went to Berlinas to inform him about the vehicle and get information from the driver, but the only thing that happened was that they took my friend’s number and said to wait for details, but I have not received them yet,” he said.
The Canadian citizen assured that there was protocol failures of security, there were no registration videos for passengers before embarking on the trip and asked travelers to be careful and take the necessary measures.
“Colombia is a beautiful destination that should not be avoided by tourists just because of these events of a few opportunistic Colombians,” Barrientos closed.
BARRANQUILLA
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