The National Police in Itapúa intensified security at banking institutions in the northeast of the department, after the thwarted robbery attempt on Friday, May 15, in Capitán Meza. General Inspector Commissioner Hilario Godoy, director of the Departmental Directorate, reported that 30 agents from the Special Operations Group (GEO) from Asunción were sent to reinforce preventive patrols in the region.
The operation is coordinated by Principal Commissioner Arsenio Ibarrola, head of Citizen Security of the Departmental Directorate, and aims to prevent further attacks on banks, such as those that occurred in 2024, when, in less than a month, a branch was blown up and an ATM was ripped out. The last major event was the attack and explosion at the Algisa company in Coronel Bogado in February, in which the armed group reportedly did not take any money.
Agents from the regional office of the Investigations Department launched an operation based on intelligence information that warned of a possible bank robbery in the Colónias Unidas region or in the northeast of the department, during the extended holiday. Since Wednesday, May 13, three teams had been carrying out preventive field work. On the afternoon of May 15, around 4:30 p.m., one of the groups spotted two vehicles with fake license plates. When they tried to approach them, a chase ensued with an exchange of gunfire.
The criminals, between four and six, abandoned a silver 2022 Toyota Hilux and a pearl white 2004 Toyota Premio on a side road in Capitán Meza Puerto. Inside the vehicles, balaclavas, gloves, caps with police inscriptions, and a sheet of paper with notes were found. The paper contained a sketch of the microcenter of Capitán Meza, indicating locations near a “target.” According to investigators, the target would be one of the two bank branches in the area: the National Development Bank (BNF) or a branch of Banco Continental.
The head of the Investigations Department, Principal Commissioner Joel Cabrera, stated that the criminal structure responsible for the planning has already been identified. “It would be a local gang, together with others from other departments, such as Alto Paraná, who are dedicated to this type of act,” he declared. Cabrera added that among the members of the structure would be known criminals, with convictions and even with temporary releases from Cereso.
Commissioner Godoy highlighted that the first positive result was the arrest of one person and the death of another during a drug transfer in Mayor Otaño. He emphasized that the officers of the 19th Police Station reportedly refused an attempted bribe by the detainee.