TOLUCA. Chicken merchants in the Toluca Valley denounced that in recent months there have been several intimidation attacks for collection of fees by alleged members of the Familia Michoacana, and revealed that the extortionists burn cars and warehouses, in addition to shooting at buildings. .
Sellers of the birds, who preferred to remain anonymous to protect their physical integrity, disclosed that events such as the one on December 22, when four workers from a raw chicken warehouse were kidnapped, occurred in previous months.
The merchants explained that the modus operandi of the extortionists consists of burning vehicles, throwing Molotov cocktails into warehouses, as well as shooting at businesses while employees are working and making phone calls requesting million-dollar fees.
According to information from chicken suppliers and videos they provided to El Sol de Toluca, at least other acts of intimidation occurred last September and October, all during the early morning hours.
A video from September 5 shows a group of workers processing chicken for sale when they hear gunshots and drop to the ground to protect themselves.
The recording shows two angles, the interior and exterior of the warehouse where the events occur.
The cameras outside recorded a group of men arriving at the warehouse and firing their weapons at the building and then throwing Molotov cocktails at the home. They also set fire to the merchants’ vehicles.
The next event occurred last October 17 at another chicken slaughterhouse. The images recorded by the video surveillance cameras show two people dressed in caps and sweatshirts who arrived at the premises at 3:18 a.m., carrying two gallons of fuel and Molotov cocktails already prepared.
The attackers threw the explosives over the roof of the warehouse and then fled the scene.
A third video taken by neighbors shows the moment in which alleged extortionists set fire to a warehouse, but the date and place of this material are unknown.
A fourth video is the one that was broadcast and shows the events of Friday, December 22 in the Parques Nacionales neighborhood.
NO PROGRESS
Relatives of the four employees deprived of their liberty on December 22 at a chicken warehouse reported that after seven days there is still no progress in the investigation. “They don’t tell us anything, neither from the Prosecutor’s Office nor from the owner of the winery, we don’t know where (their relatives) are,” commented one of the daughters of Eliseo Escobar, one of the workers kidnapped by the alleged extortionists.
The relatives of the chicken processors declared that neither the Prosecutor’s Office nor the Person Search Commission of the State of Mexico have contacted them.
➡️ Subscribe to our Newsletter and receive the most relevant notes in your email
On December 22, four workers at a Toluca bird market were kidnapped because the owners allegedly did not pay the floor fee to the members of the Familia Michoacana criminal group.
Relatives of those kidnapped have demonstrated in front of the Government Palace, in Toluca, to demand that the authorities expedite the search for their relatives.