The remains of the former leader of a notorious Ecuadorian gang, Junior Roldán, have been stolen from a cemetery in Colombia, allegedly for a disturbing "satanic ritual."
Junior Roldán, a high-ranking member of the Los Choneros prison gang in Ecuador, met his demise in May when he was fatally shot.
According to police reports, on the night of September 12, the crypt where Junior Roldán's body was laid to rest in Envigado, a city in the department of Antioquia, was forcefully breached.
The cemetery workers, arriving at the scene on the morning of September 13, were immediately concerned as they found one of the entrance doors left ajar. In collaboration with a priest, they inspected the site and discovered that the cement cover of the crypt had been vandalized.
Authorities in Envigado suspect that Roldán's body might have been taken by rival members of Los Choneros or that it was exhumed for a sinister satanic ritual.
Roldán met his end on May 6 in the Antioquia municipality of Fredonia, leading to his burial in the cemetery since no one had claimed his body.
Junior Roldán held a prominent role as the co-founding leader of Los Choneros, a formidable gang in Ecuador with ties to Colombian and Mexican drug cartels. The gang exerted control over drug trafficking routes extending into Mexico and the United States.
Los Choneros had once solidified its influence within the Ecuadorian prison system but gradually witnessed its power wane as rival gangs, including the Lobos, formed alliances with other criminal organizations.
Roldán, who had a history of criminal activities, including two murders, sought house arrest in 2022 due to his deteriorating health, marked by arterial hypertension, diabetes, grade 3 hepatic steatosis, and liver cirrhosis. A judge granted his release, citing imminent health risks.
However, just hours after his release on December 15, 2022, Roldán was re-arrested when police discovered firearms in a vehicle he was traveling in. He was released again on February 14, this time with an ankle monitor, through a habeas corpus application.
President Guillermo Lasso criticized the court's decision to free Roldán, denouncing it as an attempt to release one of the country's most dangerous criminals.
Roldán further escalated the situation by removing his tracking device and going missing on March 23, declared a fugitive by an Ecuadorian judge.
Roldán narrowly escaped death in a shootout on March 16, resulting in five fatalities and six injuries.
Colombian media outlets reported that Roldán had hired a bodyguard who ultimately betrayed and killed him.
In another news a man in Florida is accused of murdering a Lyft driver and stealing the victim's car in an attempt to evade another homicide charge. See detailed story here.
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