On June 27, police officers attacked Antara shopping center in front of the jewelry store. Edgar Negrete Lira (CUARTOSCURO)
The robbery was scheduled for the day before, but who knows what strange logic drives the calendar in these cases; What math dictates the mind of someone about to blow up the window of a luxury jewelry store? What is known is that separately, so as not to arouse suspicion, the thieves broke into the Antara shopping center in Polanco, one of those exclusive and wealthy ghettos where successful businessmen, diplomats and politicians from Mexico City take refuge. Four people were carrying backpacks with axes and mallets hidden in them, the capital’s Minister for Citizen Security, Omar García Harfuch, said at a news conference on Wednesday.
The whole country has already seen what happened next: three of them drew axes and brutally attacked the window of the luxury jewelry store Berger. Meanwhile, the fourth armed with a gun watched what happened – the guard is currently the only prisoner whose testimony clears the way for the investigators. It was around 7:45 p.m. on Monday. It was still light, customers in the mall, shops open. Everyone could see the attack, everyone could capture it on videos circulating on the internet. Recordings in which the ubiquitous wailing of sirens can be heard and the blows that want to burst the bulletproof glass.
According to estimates by the Secretariat for Citizen Security (SSC), the thieves managed to smash one of the windows and steal 15 of the watches on display in the window, valued at 1.8 million pesos (more than $100,000). By the time officers arrived at the scene, alerted by calls from several visitors to the mall, it was too late. The four were safely gone with their axes and watches.
Later, as with all major robberies, there was a grand escape: a white motorbike, another black and a gray Ford made their escape via Miguel de Cervantes, only to get lost in the congested streets of what was then the city. The thieves reached a house on Lago de Xochimilco street in the Anahuac district. There they left the clothes they wore in the robbery and the vehicles. The motorcyclists were the first to leave the house. Half an hour later, the driver of the car requested a vehicle, but returned to the house, according to surveillance cameras in the area.
That was his fault. So fell Marco N., the first and so far only arrested: a 27-year-old citizen with a history of robberies. At the time of his arrest on Tuesday, he was carrying a short handgun on his hip and was being accompanied by a 25-year-old woman who the local press has identified as Yulissa Mendoza, the internet content originator who is “not directly involved” with the attack related,” García Harfuch clarified. According to police investigations, Marco is part of a gang of robbers operating in the Miguel Hidalgo and Gustavo Madero neighborhoods and parts of the state of Mexico.
Regarding the robbery of the jewelry store in Antara Polanco, we inform you that the first arrest has already been made after several raids during the night. There are more people who need to be arrested and this fact will not go unpunished in our city. They will all be arrested. pic.twitter.com/XXjwJ5YGGC
— Omar Garcia Harfuch (@OHarfuch) June 27, 2023
Marco’s arrest was the police’s first breakthrough. Thanks to the interrogation, officers determined that the thieves “do not belong to a highly structured criminal record.” “We are sure that we will stop them soon,” said the security minister during the press conference. Investigators have already identified the other three involved, but their identities have not yet been released to avoid jeopardizing the operation.
That early morning, the police conducted two searches. The first took place in the building on Lago de Xochimilco street where Marco was arrested. There they found the vehicles used in the robbery. One of them contained the axes, mallets, a motorcycle helmet, watch holders and clothing used by the thieves in the attack. The Ford had already been insured in May 2022 following an arrest for illegal gun possession. The second search took place in the San Juan de Aragón neighborhood and investigators arrested a 36-year-old woman who, although part of the criminal investigation department to which the robbers belonged, was not directly connected to the crime. They confiscated 100 bags of cocaine and a cellphone.
The police continue to investigate. In a country where fewer than 1% of crimes are solved, according to an analysis by civil organization Impunidad Cero, the virality of an attack in broad daylight at a luxury shopping mall is forcing authorities to act against the clock to get results table . García Harfuch has indicated that they have no evidence that the jewelry guards were connected to the robbery, a suspicion that spread via social media due to the inactivity of the center’s security forces. And once again a crime has shattered a mirage: in a country torn apart by violence, not even the wealthy neighborhoods are entirely safe from insecurity. Some crystals smashed with an ax bear witness to this.
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