Mexico: 'Knights Templar' member held on suspicion of organ trafficking

Police detain alleged cartel member on suspicion of kidnapping people, including children, and harvesting their organs



Police in Mexico's western state of Michoacan detained an alleged member of the Knights Templar cartel on suspicion of organ trafficking.

Carlos Castellanos Becerra, Michoacan's public safety secretary, alleged that Manuel Plancarte Gaspar was part of a cartel ring that would target people with certain characteristics, especially children, for kidnapping and harvesting organs.

He did not give any specifics or present cases. He said investigators were looking into alleged cases that occurred in previous years.

"We have several statements in open investigations," Castellanos Becerra said at a news conference on Monday.

Plancarte Gaspar, 34, was detained last week along with another suspect in a stolen car. The men were carrying cash and crystal meth, Castellanos Becerra said. He said Plancarte Gaspar was the nephew of Enrique Plancarte Solis, a senior Knights Templar leader.

The federal government generally handles cases of trafficking linked to cartels, such as drugs and in the case of the Knights Templar, iron ore.

Federal officials were not immediately available for comment on Monday, which was a holiday in Mexico.

Mexican authorities have said drug trafficking is no longer the top source of income for the Knights Templar, which was once a top producer of crystal meth. Officials say the cartel's main sources of income are illegal mining, logging and extortion.

  

Associated Press in Mexico City theguardian.com, Tuesday 18 March 2014 08.49 GMT

VIDEO:

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG8Jq_IVWBY

SYNONYMS:

- to confine or hold in custody; arrest: detain (detener, arrestar)

- association of independent enterprises formed to monopolize production and distribution of a product or service, control prices...: cartel (cártel, consorcio)

- as a suspect: on suspicion (of) (bajo sospecha)

- to put forward (an argument or plea) for or against an accusation: allege (alegar, afirmar)

- to direct or aim: target (tener como objetivo, dirigir)

- to carry off and hold (a person), usually for ransom: kidnap (secuestrar, raptar)

- to reap; to extirpate: harvest (extraer)

- study, investigate: look into (estudiar, investigar)

- more than a few; an indefinite small number: several (varios/as)

- something that is stated, especially a formal prepared announcement or reply; a declaration of matters of fact, especially in a pleading: statement (declaración)

- together with: along with (junto con, conjuntamente con)

- a person who is under suspicion (believed guilty of a specified offence without proof, evidence): suspect (sospechoso)

- banknotes and coins, especially in hand or readily available; ready money: cash (dinero en efectivo, al contado)

- neurotoxin which is often used recreationally for its effects as a potent aphrodisiac, euphoriant and stimulant: crystal meth (cristales de metadona, metanfetamina)

- a son of one's sister or brother: nephew (sobrino)

- higher in rank or length of service: senior (superior, mayor, sénior)

- a person who rules, guides, or inspires others; head: leader (líder, cabecilla)

- to deal with or treat in a specified way: handle (encargarse, tratar)

- connected to, related to: linked to (relacionado con)

- for example: such as (tal como)

- rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted: iron ores (minerales de hierro)

- obtainable or accessible: available (disponible)

- not any more: no longer (ya no)

- the point or place from which something originates: source (of) (fuente de)

- the amount of monetary or other returns given over a period of time: income (ingresos)

- the work of felling and transporting timber (wood): logging (explotación forestal)

SUMMARY:

Two weeks ago, Carlos Castellanos Becerra, Michoacan's public safety secretary, posted a tweet in which he announced that Manuel Plancarte Gaspar, one member of the Knight's Templar cartel, had been arrested in a stolen car along with another suspect: they were accused of kidnapping people, especially children, in order to harvest their organs and, then, sell them in the black market. In fact (and this is not in the text because it's a more recent piece of news), over the last few days, the police have stated that some patrols have managed to stop and detain the driver of a van which was being used to transport some of those kids -who had been taken away from a local school- towards an industrial warehouse equipped with medical gear, which had to be used, allegedly, to reap their organs.

Unfortunately, as this case is extremely recent, there hasn't been any trial or sentence yet; actually, the information available about it is not much. However, there have existed other similar cases which have been solved by sending, firstly, the alleged traffickers to preventive prison (while the trial was going on) and, finally, by sentencing the guilty from one to eight years imprisonment.

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Ariadna Pons, Carlos Mir & Pau Pons.