09.03.2023
A dozen armed men with apparent professional training attempted a robbery at the Santiago de Chile International Airport.
Security units frustrated this Wednesday (03.08.2023) a millionaire robbery at the Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport in Santiago de Chile after a shooting in the middle of the runway and takeoff in which two people died, an alleged thief and an official of the General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics (DGAC), in charge of the security of the enclosure.
According to the director of that institution, General Raúl Jorquera, a group of about twelve men -heavily armed and with apparent professional training- “managed to cross the first line, but not the second, which is decisive” within the framework of a well-rounded plan. defined with which they intended to appropriate more than 32 million dollars.
The criminals penetrated the perimeter of the tracks after attacking in vehicles against one of the bars and tied up the security guard who was in the place, who, however, managed to get away to notify the second access control. “That’s where they entered, but that’s where they were also alerted,” said Jorquera, who denied that there are security breaches that make the airport unsafe, but admitted that “procedures must be reviewed, of course, and that is self-criticism.” .
Despite the warning, the thieves managed to approach the plane from Miami that was arriving with million-dollar remittances, at which point the shooting began in which one of the alleged assailants and firefighter Claudio Villar Rodríguez, who participated in the armed confrontation, died.
“I want to show solidarity and send a big hug to the family of the DGAC official,” Chilean President Gabriel Boric said during his speech at a commemoration ceremony on the occasion of Women’s Day. “We know that insecurity is a priority for Chilean men and women. When there is insecurity, all the rest falters,” he added.
In their escape, the criminals left several burned-out cars on the road that connects the airport with Santiago. “I want you to know that from our government we are going to pursue tirelessly, with justice and with all the force of the law, crime and those who put the lives of our compatriots at risk,” Boric concluded.
If it had not been prevented, this would have been the largest robbery in Chile, far exceeding the one that managed to steal 7.9 million dollars in 2014 and the one that in 2017 appropriated another 21 million, both in the same air terminal.
loves (efe, afp, Archyde.com, ap)