Gangs robbed travelers exiting busy airport nabbed, confirms U.S. warning

Santo Domingo.- The Police arrested at least four gangs of thieves who robbed travelers leaving Las Americas Airport (AILA) in the last five months, including one woman in one of them, based in nearby Andrés and Boca Chica.

The report comes just hours after the U.S. State Department warned American citizens on traveling to the country, noting the high number of highway robberies of travelers after leaving the country’s busiest airport.

El Nacional reports that Police busted the gangs totaling 22 people, with only four still behind bars.

The latest group arrested in May, four men and one woman, assaulted several travelers from the U.S., including the couple Francisco Lantigua and Kenya Suriel, who lost US$10,400, items valued at RD$100,000, among other belongings brought after his return.

The police seized an unspecified amount of cash and items and charged Luis Miguel Sanchez, Jovanny Gala Lizardo, Rafael Recio Arcadio, Manuel Perez and Victoria Silfa. The men are still being held without bail while Silfa posted bond.

It was reported that the four men a court imposed coercive measures three months, while the woman was sentenced to a fine, barred from leaving the country and regular reporting to the judge.

The U.S. Embassy had also issued travel advisories, which prompted top AILA official Carlos Cota Lama to affirm that members of the military and civilians are the gangs’ accomplices.