Three people allegedly staged their own kidnapping to demand $50,000

Three people allegedly pretended to have been kidnapped and demanded $50,000, claiming that the Los Fatales gang was holding them captive, Ecuadorian investigators said.

The case emerged during Operation Libertad-1001, which covered La Maná in Cotopaxi and Cañalito in Quevedo, Los Ríos. The investigation began after reports that Madelline Morales and Alex Mendoza had disappeared. Agents later located them in Cañalito and determined that neither person had been kidnapped or faced immediate danger.

Authorities arrested Alex Wladimir Mendoza Bastias, Madelline Scarlett Morales Engracia and Carlos Alfredo Jiménez Zambrano. They also seized two mobile phones.

The operation was one of three conducted by the National Anti-Kidnapping and Extortion Unit, or UNASE. In Guayas, Operation Fénix-459 led to the arrest of six people allegedly linked to a group extorting traders in Milagro, Naranjal, Yaguachi and Simón Bolívar. Investigators said the group demanded between $5,000 and $50,000. Police identified Guillermo Miguel Muñoz Pin, known as “Pin,” as the alleged leader of Los Águilas. Authorities said he had prior records for drug trafficking, receiving stolen goods, kidnapping and murder.

A third operation, Libertad-989, followed a businessman’s complaint that he had received WhatsApp threats against himself and his family since Sept. 1. The extortionists allegedly demanded $5,000. Officers arrested María José Díaz Mercado in Guayacanes and seized seven phones and two payment receipts. Across the three operations, authorities confiscated phones, vehicles and cash.