The National Police have identified a gang of Venezuelan criminals as the perpetrators of the assault on the upscale Ciao restaurant in the Naco section of Santo Domingo. Most of the booty consisted of Rolex and Cartier watches and rings belonging to the patrons. According to police spokesman Frank Felix Durand Mejia, the gang has been identified, however, the leader of the gang reportedly took a flight to Venezuela the same day. Some of the gang members had previously been indicted in 2016 on similar charges of assault with deadly weapons and robbery, but they were apparently free on bail.
The police were able to identify the gang after investigating the motorcycle used by two of the men who committed the robbery. This motorcycle apparently slid to the pavement and forced the occupants to flee on foot and get in another vehicle that was waiting for them. The gang’s leader, Jonnan Casanova Andrade, had paid three persons RD$1,000 each to get the motorcycle used in the robbery. Casanova
Andrade fled on COPA flight 257 to Venezuela.
As reported, the gang would identify the victims in a shopping mall and follow these to assault them in a place where the victims would be most vulnerable.
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17 September 2018
