Suspected Tool Thief Arrested as Police Recover Evidence

Police arrested a suspected tool thief at dawn in San Lorenzo and recovered some of the equipment allegedly stolen from a construction site in Luque.

The case involves tools valued at more than 10 million guaraníes taken from a building project in the Laurelty neighborhood. Construction manager De Los Santos Mesa Antúnez, 51, had stored the equipment in a large container because it was difficult to move everything from the site each day.

Investigators said the thieves apparently knew that expensive tools remained at the site over weekends. On the night of Aug. 2, they allegedly forced open the container, loaded the tools into a motorized tricycle and escaped.

After the complaint, officers from Central Investigations reviewed security-camera footage and spoke with residents. They identified the vehicle and then identified Aníbal Rodrigo Méndez Vera, 27. The Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered his arrest.

Investigators carried out two simultaneous raids in the Calleí area of San Lorenzo. They found Méndez at one of the properties with the motorized tricycle and two tools allegedly reported stolen. At the other property, officers found a shovel, a pickaxe with a wooden handle, a pointed shovel and a submersible water pump.