Tacuarembó Man Ran Fake Gas-Cylinder Scam From Prison

A 25-year-old man serving time in Rivera prison ran a scheme selling 13-kilogram gas cylinders with fake payment receipts, according to Tacuarembó police.

The investigation began in June 2026 after the Investigations Brigade detected suspected computer-fraud activity in the city of Tacuarembó. The operation involved purchases of goods accompanied by counterfeit proof of payment. Police identified the gas cylinders as the products involved in the fraud and linked the scheme to the inmate at Unit No. 12 of Uruguay’s National Rehabilitation Institute.

The man has previous convictions for theft, breaking and entering, and removing or destroying electronic devices. A court convicted him as criminally responsible for repeated computer-fraud offenses and imposed six months of effective imprisonment.

In a separate case in Punta del Este, police launched an operation to arrest a man who allegedly tried to rob the Rubi Rubi jewelry store at the intersection of streets 20 and 30. He had made a hole in the roof to enter the premises, but an employee arrived to open the store and discovered him.

Security footage showed the man escaping into the street at 10:45 a.m. in broad daylight and without covering his face, while the employee called 911. He left a backpack behind and took no valuables. According to police accounts cited by local media, the employee noticed him after hearing a thud caused by his fall while working on the hole.