They steal more than 12 tons of flour from a private worker in Holguín

A gang of more than 25 men was accused by a Cuban of stealing the merchandise being transported by a private worker from Santiago de Cuba for a supposed purchase in the town of La Flor de Báguano, in the province of Holguín.

The report sent to our editorial team recounts that the events took place last Tuesday, May 21st.

According to the account, "the criminals hired the self-employed worker (TCP) using Messenger and WhatsApp; they also sent their identification from the National Tax Office (ONAT), self-employment papers, and identity card, for the issuance of the transit invoice." All the documents turned out to be fake.

The purchase of the cargo would be assumed in two parts, one when they were in the town of La Flor de Báguano and the other in the city of Holguín, payments should have occurred at both unloading points, they assure in the text.

They also claim that during the cargo journey there was a fluent communication between the seller and the buyer. "They kept making calls from two numbers, the supposed buyer and his warehouse manager (who made the first contact), who was going to receive the cargo in Flores, make the payment, and serve as a guarantee for the second delivery," they describe.

Remember that "once arrived at the first place, in front of the village bakery, they are taken to the house right across, where there were more than 25 people, including men all wearing gloves and carrying backpacks, who were going to unload the merchandise."

In that place, they showed the amount corresponding to the first payment. The money was "in a backpack with bundles of money well organized, where only bills of 1,000 and 500 CUP could be seen, but underneath there were bills of 10 and 5, for a total of 2 sacks of flour," she adds.

After that unloading, they head to the city of Holguín to collect the rest of the money and unload the remaining merchandise. The warehouse manager went with them "as a guarantee." However, "at a stop the truck made, he got off at full speed, fleeing the scene on a motorcycle that was waiting for him, leaving behind the backpack with the money," he recounts.

After questioning the owner of the house where the first operation took place, they claim that this person told them that they did not know the alleged thieves and referred that "minutes after they left, a truck arrived and took all the merchandise and some of the dockworkers, and then another vehicle took the rest."

The affected individuals filed a report with the police, and during the reconstruction of the events, they discovered that "since early in the morning, there was a red motorbike making arrangements for the house and cars in the community to carry out the scam."

Apparently, "both the truck that transported the stolen cargo, the scooter, and the vehicle that took the rest of the dockworkers had been hidden in the area since early," they point out.

They point out that "this is the third crime of this type committed in the last three weeks with the same modus operandi in this area."

Recently, a police operation in the city of Santa Clara, Villa Clara province, intervened following the report of two millionaire scams which, in one case, involved food products such as condensed milk and imported cookies (valued at over two million pesos) and, in another, 22 packs of Cristal beer (valued at over 15 million pesos).

On that occasion, the police took the opportunity to reiterate the importance of verifying the identity of buyers and sellers who are contacted through social media, and to ensure that the places where transactions are to take place have the necessary conditions to avoid surprises.