A Gang Built a Fake Police Station in a Basement in Chile and Used It to Kidnap People
Seven detained, including a former prosecutor and serving detectives. The victims were Chinese nationals threatened with invented US investigations. The post A Gang Built a Fake Police Station in a Basement in Chile and Used It to Kidnap People appeared first on The Rio Times .
In Chile, a gang constructed a counterfeit police station concealed within a basement to apprehend individuals and extort money from them. Seven individuals were detained as a result of this operation, with three of them being active members of Chile's investigative police and one being a former state prosecutor who had previously served in the legal system.
The gang assembled the set between August 3 and 5, using genuine uniforms and firearms that they were unauthorized to carry. They displayed photographs of Donald Trump on the walls to make the operation appear more credible to individuals unfamiliar with Chilean policing. The victims were made to believe they were under investigation by American federal authorities, a fabricated threat intended to enhance the operation's legitimacy.
The victims, who were Chinese nationals named Mingkai Fu and Mingxia Fu, as well as their brother-in-law, were falsely apprehended on August 6 and subjected to ransom demands on August 7 and 8. Initially, the demand was around 300 million Chilean pesos per victim, which later decreased to 200 million pesos, or roughly US$213,000. Additionally, a promissory note of approximately 43 million pesos, or about US$46,000, was separately demanded.
One of the accused in this case, Vinko Fodich, a former prosecutor working as a lawyer, was ordered into preventive detention along with a PDI inspector and another individual. His defense accepted the detention temporarily while they prepared appeals. The remaining four individuals were held for a hearing on Saturday. The identities of the three officers involved remain disputed.
Chile's director of the PDI, Eduardo Cerna, expressed concern over the involvement of former officials, stating that there is no place for such conduct within the institution. This incident is not an isolated case, as Chile has experienced a surge in organised extortion over the past three years, often targeting foreign victims who may not be fully aware of local policing procedures or their rights. Victims in Latin America have historically been hesitant to report such crimes due to potential immigration consequences.
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