Latest news with #ransom
BBC News
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Mexican police arrest suspect in killing of five band members
Police in Mexico have detained a man known by the alias of M-47, whom they suspect of ordering the murder of members of the band Grupo bodies of four musicians from the band and their manager were discovered on Thursday in Tamaulipas state, four days after the men had been reported missing. Their relatives had reported receiving ransom demands in the days after the men's kidnappings for ransom are not uncommon in violence-wracked Tamaulipas, the way band members were apparently lured to an abandoned lot by their kidnappers with the promise of a gig at a private party and then killed has shocked locals, who held rallies demanding their release. Police said they arrested M-47 during raids on three properties, in which they also seized drugs, weapons, cash and suspicious vehicles and detained two other suspects. Federal officials said they suspect M-47 of being one of the bosses of a gang known as "Metros", which forms part of the Gulf Gulf Cartel has its stronghold in Tamaulipas state and engages in the smuggling of drugs and migrants across the US-Mexico border, as well as kidnapping for ransom. It is not clear why the members of Grupo Fugitivo were targeted. The singer - who survived because he was late on the night - told local media that his band had been hired to perform at a private party and given an singer said that when he made his own way to the location they had been given to meet up with his fellow musicians, he found the address to be a vacant lot and no sign of the band members or their band's SUV was found abandoned three days later a few kilometres away. The trailer with their instruments and sound equipment was also found dumped at another nearby believe the five were taken by their captors to a property, where they were Fugitivo were known for playing norteña music - a genre characterised by catchy lyrics often sung to a polka-inspired rhythm - which has been targeted by criminal gangs. Some bands rely on income early in their careers from being hired to play at private parties, many of which are hosted by people involved in or with connections to the sometimes also compose songs praising drug lords and there have been instances in the past when singers of such songs, known as "corridos" have been threatened and even killed by rival gangs. In total, 12 suspects have been arrested in connection with the murder of the members of Grupo Fugitivo so far.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Two await trial in Albuquerque migrant stash house raid
May 30—Two men are accused of holding a group of undocumented migrants hostage at a stash house in Southwest Albuquerque, telling one man's family he would be turned over to the cartel if the ransom wasn't paid. Isaias David Jose and Tomas Mateo Gaspar are both in federal custody and charged with harboring an illegal alien. Jose is also charged with hostage taking in the case, which came to light after the FBI raided the home March 2. The FBI said both Jose and Gaspar crossed into the country not long before settling in Albuquerque. Jose's father spent 60,000 Mexican pesos to smuggle him into the U.S. a year ago, where he first lived in Tennessee, according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court for the state of New Mexico. Both Gaspar and Jose moved to Albuquerque within a month of the FBI raid. Gaspar's attorney did not comment on the pending case. Jose's attorney was not available for comment. The FBI launched an investigation March 1 after being contacted by a concerned relative of a migrant who illegally crossed into the country in January, referred to as John Doe 1. The family reported they hadn't heard from Doe in weeks and received a ransom demand for more than $11,000 in Guatemalan quetzales. The relative told the FBI that the kidnappers sent a "proof of life" video and threatened to hand Doe over to the Zetas cartel, an infamous cartel enforcement group comprised of former Mexican military officers, according to the affidavit. FBI agents used phone location data to track the phone call to a home in the South Valley and executed a search warrant March 2. FBI agents raided the home in the 800 block of Aritas SW, north of Rio Bravo and Isleta, and discovered 10 undocumented immigrants and one unaccompanied minor. Jose and Gaspar were also in the residence, where agents seized more than 20 cellphones, a ledger that contained the migrants' names and destinations, along with a bag of the hostages' shoes. The migrants told FBI agents they were held in locked rooms, and Doe alleged Jose had threatened to turn him over to the "Mexican mafia" if he did not pay $18,000 in two days. Another migrant said the men would yell at them to "be quiet or they would get rid of them," the affidavit said. Text messages from Jose's phone revealed multiple videos of purported migrants, including some marked as "green light," which FBI agents believed to mean that the videotaped hostages had their ransom paid, according to the affidavit. Jose told agents he filmed five immigrants and sent the videos to a phone number in Mexico. The FBI said Gaspar told agents a friend was allowing him to stay at the residence while he looked for a job. Edwin Barker, a California man who owns the property, said he never met Gaspar or Jose and they were not on the lease. He said, of the previous tenants, "I rented to these guys and they told us they were in the landscaping business." Barker said the FBI called him after the raid, explaining the house was being used to hold kidnapped men from Mexico. "I (said) if you would have called me beforehand I would have given you a key, you wouldn't have to break all these windows and do all this damage," he said. The agent replied, "That's not how we operate" and told Barker he could apply for reimbursement for the $900 in damage, although nothing was guaranteed. Barker said after fixing up the windows and door, he recently found a new tenant for the property.
CBS News
4 days ago
- General
- CBS News
2 arrested for allegedly kidnapping man in Culver City at gunpoint, forcing ATM withdrawals
Two men are facing kidnapping for ransom and robbery charges for allegedly kidnapping a man at gunpoint in Culver City, forcing him into their vehicle as they drove him to a bank to make ATM cash withdrawals, according to police. Culver City police said a victim walked into the police station on the afternoon of May 13 to report a kidnapping and robbery that happened in front of a business located at the 3800 block of Midway Avenue. The victim said a silver SUV pulled up to him as he was walking to his vehicle, and the passenger in the SUV pointed a gun at him and ordered him into the vehicle. According to police, the suspects then drove the victim to a bank on Palms Boulevard where he was forced to make several cash withdrawals, totaling $540. The suspects also tried to get more money through a loan, and from the victim's friend, according to police. The suspects later released the victim in a nearby residential area and warned him not to contact law enforcement. On May 27, detectives found the suspect vehicle parked at a motel in the Castaic area, and the two suspects were later detained during a "high-risk traffic stop" at the Newhall Ranch Road offramp on Interstate 5, police said. Franzezo Dumitru, 23, of Washington and Stan Eduardo, 21 of New York were taken into custody.
CBS News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
5 missing musicians found dead near U.S. border in Mexico; alleged cartel members arrested
Why Trump is pushing military help for Mexico to help fight cartels The bodies of five musicians, members of a Mexican regional music group who had gone missing, were found in the northern city of Reynosa along the Texas border, authorities said on Thursday. The musicians from the band Grupo Fugitivo, which played at parties and local dances in the region, had been reported missing since Sunday. Tamaulipas state prosecutors, who had been investigating their disappearance, said the men were kidnapped around 10 p.m. that night while traveling in a SUV on the way to a venue where they were hired to play. Their bodies were found on the fringes of Reynosa. Prosecutors said nine suspects believed to be part of a faction of the Gulf Cartel, which has strong presence in the city, have been arrested. Authorities were not immediately able to say why the men were slain, and did not deny reports by local media that the bodies had been burned. The vehicle belonging to Mexican musical group Grupo Fugitivo is seen outside the Specialized Unit for the Investigation of Forced Disappearances, after Mexican authorities confirmed that five members of the band were found dead, in Reynosa, Mexico May 29, 2025. Stringer / REUTERS Relatives had reported receiving ransom demands for the musicians, aged between 20 and 40 years old. The band was hired to put on a concert but arrived to find a vacant lot, according to family members. The genre they played – Mexican regional music, which encapsulates a wide range of styles including corridos and cumbia – has in recent years gained a spotlight as it's entered a sort of international musical renaissance. Young artists sometimes pay homage to leaders of drug cartels, often portrayed as Robin Hood-type figures. It was not immediately clear if the group played such songs or if the artists were simply victims of rampant cartel violence that has eclipsed the city. But other artists have faced death threats by cartels, while others have had their visas stripped by the United States under accusations by the Trump administration that they were glorifying criminal violence. The last time the musicians from the band Grupo Fugitivo were heard from was the night they were kidnapped, when they told family members they were on the way to the event. After that, nothing else was heard of them. Their disappearance caused an uproar in Tamaulipas, a state long eclipsed by cartel warfare. Their families reported the disappearances, called on the public for support and people took to the streets in protest. On Wednesday, protesters blocked the international bridge connecting Reynosa and Pharr, Texas, later going to a local cathedral to pray and make offerings to the disappeared. Mexican Army members stand guard at the scene where, according to Mexican authorities, the members of the musical group Grupo Fugitivo were found dead, in Reynosa, Mexico May 29, 2025. Stringer / REUTERS Reynosa is a Mexican border city adjacent to the United States and has been plagued by escalating violence since 2017 due to internal disputes among groups vying for control of drug trafficking, human smuggling and fuel theft. Musicians sometimes get caught in cartel turf wars Mexican musicians have previously been targeted by criminal groups that pay them to compose and perform songs that glorify the exploits of their leaders. Such performers often live in close proximity to their drug lord patrons, and can at times get caught up in gang turf battles. "Narcocorridos" are a controversial sub-genre of music in Mexico, and the songs have caught the attention of President Claudia Sheinbaum, who recently launched a music contest "for peace and against addictions," seeking to counter the popularity of the music among young people in Mexico and the United States. Several regions in the country have banned "narcocorridos," sparking a recent riot during a concert after a singer refused to perform some of his most popular songs. In April, the U.S. State Department revoked the visas of members of a Mexican band after they projected the face of a drug cartel boss onto a large screen during a performance in the western state of Jalisco. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, who was U.S. ambassador to Mexico during the first Trump administration, said on social media that the work and tourism visas of members of Los Alegres del Barranco were revoked. The controversy broke out in late March when the face of Nemesio Rubén "El Mencho" Oseguera Cervantes layered over flames was projected behind the band, originally hailing from Sinaloa, during the concert. Oseguera is the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which has been connected to a ranch authorities say was used to train cartel recruits and possibly dispose of bodies in Jalisco, where searchers found human bone fragments, heaps of clothing and shoes. The U.S. government has offered a $15 million reward for information leading to Oseguera's capture. In November, his son-in-law was arrested in California after U.S. officials say he faked his own death to "live a life of luxury" north of the border. The Jalisco cartel is among other criminal groups in Mexico that have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration. While the image was met by applause during the concert, Jalisco prosecutors quickly announced they were summoning the band to testify in an investigation into whether they were promoting violence, a crime which could result in a penalty of up to six months in prison In 2018, armed men kidnapped two members of the musical group "Los Norteños de Río Bravo," whose bodies were later found on the federal highway connecting Reynosa to Río Bravo, Tamaulipas. In 2013, 17 musicians from the group Kombo Kolombia were executed by alleged cartel members in the northeastern state of Nuevo Leon, allegedly because of links to a rival gang. Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.
CNA
7 days ago
- General
- CNA
Fake kidnapping in KL: Foreigner studying in Singapore fined US$4,000 by Malaysian court for cheating
KUALA LUMPUR: A foreigner studying in Singapore has been fined RM17,000 (US$4,000) by a Malaysian court for faking another student's kidnapping in Kuala Lumpur. Zhang Runbao pleaded guilty on Tuesday (May 27) to a charge of cheating. He had deceived Cheng Zhiwen, the mother of Ye Yingxi, 18, by staging a video purportedly showing Ye to be a victim of kidnapping. Ye appeared half-naked in the video with his hands tied, mouth sealed with tape and face drenched with water, according to Malaysian news site Free Malaysia Today (FMT). Zhang claimed that Ye had been choked and stomped on, and demanded that Ye's mother transfer the ransom to a bank account in China. The act took place at a hotel along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman in Kuala Lumpur between 11.44am and 9.15pm on May 2, according to FMT. On May 13, Zhang and Ye claimed trial after being jointly charged at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court for allegedly trying to deceive Cheng into paying a 5 million yuan (US$694,000) ransom. They were reportedly charged at the time with cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property, with cheating – by way of making a video call to Ye's mother and showing her son in a distressing condition – as an alternative charge. Malaysian media reports on Zhang's sentencing describe him as a friend of Ye but, speaking to CNA on May 14, Ye's lawyer Ramesh Sivakumar maintained that his client did not know Zhang. On Tuesday, Judge Azrul Darus also granted Ye a discharge not amounting to an acquittal after Ye's lawyer informed the court that his client's mother did not want to pursue the case and had retracted her police report. According to Malaysian media reports, Zhang is said to be a National University of Singapore (NUS) student while Ye is believed to be a student at the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM). When contacted for comments, both SIM and NUS told CNA previously they were aware of ongoing legal proceedings but did not confirm whether Zhang and Ye were their students. Before the verdict on Tuesday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Noor Syafina Radzuan urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence on Zhang, New Straits Times reported. 'The accused's deceit caused inconvenience to many parties and wasted time and court resources, including police efforts to track him down,' she was quoted as saying. 'The prosecution also requested that the second accused, Ye, be discharged not amounting to an acquittal since Zhang has pleaded guilty,' she added. Ye's lawyer Ramesh Sivakumar had asked the court to discharge and acquit his client, The Star reported. Meanwhile, Zhang's lawyer Ernie Sulastri Ahmad said in mitigation that her client was remorseful and the 10 days he spent in lock-up had served as a lesson. Ernie added that Zhang intends to continue his studies, which are expected to conclude in June next year. If Zhang is unable to pay the fine, he will have to serve six months in prison. His cheating charge under Section 417 of the Penal Code provides for a maximum five-year jail term and fine, upon conviction.
