Shocking footage shows the moment a gang of women corner and brutally assault a British tourist to steal his belongings as he walks down a busy street in the heart of Colombia’s drug capital.
The dramatic robbery was captured on CCTV Friday, at a time when the number of tourists reporting robberies is rising in Medellin.
Two of the women, who appear modest at first while donning miniskirts and crop tops, can be seen identifying their target, who is unaware of the imminent danger, as he walks by.
They begin following their victim as he makes his way through the busy street, a corner approaching Berrio Park, before confronting him, much to the man’s surprise.
The two robbers then launch a frenzied attack on the Brit, before another woman joins in, hits him on the head and pulls his backpack incessantly.
Two of the women begin to follow their victim as he makes his way through the busy street
Surveillance footage from Friday shows the women approaching the man and talking to him
The women confront the man, much to his surprise, and they appear to exchange a few words
The man tries to break free, but the two women follow closely behind and continue to grab his bag. He tries to push them off, and a fight ensues
The man desperately tries to fend off the women, but the group successfully stole his “high-end” mobile phone, reports El Tiempo.
Surveillance footage shows the women approaching the man and talking to him for a few seconds, one of them grabbing his backpack.
He tries to pull away, but the two women follow closely behind and continue to reach for his bag. He tries to push them off, and a fight ensues.
The attack appears to last at least a minute and sees the group crossing the street as they compete for the tourists’ belongings.
Stunned onlookers watch and seem to make no effort to intervene as the man is attacked from all angles.
The women grab the man by his backpack as he tries to back up quickly, pulling them with him.
Then he almost swings the women around as they cling to his backpack, trying to fling them away in self-defense.
The tourist almost swings the women around as they cling to his backpack, trying to fling them away in self-defense
The violent attack appears to last for at least a minute and sees the group crossing the street as they compete for the tourists’ belongings.
Video shared by police showed them piling the female suspects into a police car
Police were quickly on the scene and were able to arrest the women, with more video released by police showing the three suspects piled into a car.
In a freely translated statement, Major Adrian Chacon, inspection officer of the Valle de Aburrá Metropolitan Police, said the police have conducted an in-depth investigation into the incident.
“A close follow-up began through the city’s security cameras, where the same-sector camera viewers identified the three women and notified the quadrant police units, where they were intercepted, captured for the crime of robbery. ‘
They said the stolen items had been returned to the foreigner.
It comes about 48 hours after two more foreign travelers videotaped their robbery, which took place in broad daylight.
The victims, reportedly a Polish couple, were recorded touring one of the protective hills of the capital of Antioquia before the violent attack cut video.
The man and woman, whose names have not been released, were hiking on Wednesday through the Cerro El Volador, a ridge in Medellin, when a man approached them from behind with a sharp object.
The man spoke to the camera in his native language as he recorded them, which is when one of the suspects runs towards them from behind.
A suspect put his hand over the woman’s mouth and his accomplice held the man in a stranglehold when the phone fell to the floor and the video recording stopped.
Later, the man posted a second video showing himself covered in blood.
No arrests have been made so far, despite calls from Medellin’s mayor.
In the first quarter of 2023, there were 230 complaints of tourist theft in Medllin, the capital of Antioquia, the tourism observatory of the Personería de Medellín.
That amounts to an increase of 666 percent compared to the same period last year, reports El Tiempo.
Last month, a British tourist died after being attacked by robbers while hiking a mountain trail in Colombia.
He is believed to have been hit on the head with the butt of a rifle by robbers who stole his belongings after he hiked to the Hill of Three Crosses in Medellin.
The victim, known locally as Kyle MacKenzie, was found seriously injured at the foot of the mountain trail, where he was left by the robbers after being attacked.
He was discovered two days after going missing and rushed to hospital in critical condition before succumbing to his multiple injuries, including head wounds.
The victim has been described locally as a Swedish-born man with a British passport.
The victim of the robbery has been described as the first foreign person killed in Medellin so far this year, following 10 murders of foreigners in Medellin last year.
The city is no stranger to violent crime and was once dubbed the murder capital of the world when violence plagued the streets during the rule of the Medellin drug cartel.
Ruled by arguably the most notorious drug lord in history, Pablo Escobar, Medellin witnessed 6,349 murders in 1991, a murder rate of 380 per 100,000 people.