A student has been rescued after being kidnapped and held for ransom for a month by a drug cartel in northeastern Colombia.
The 22-year old law student, who has yet to be named, was kidnapped on March 23 in Cucuta, northeastern Colombia and was being held until her rescue by police on Tuesday.
The student was on route home from University with her boyfriend when she was kidnapped and subsequently held in an apartment by violent drug cartel “the Office of Envigado.”
MORE: $250,000 reward offered for Office of Envigado fugitive
A ransom of almost $900,000 was stated for her release.
The rescue operation was coordinated by the Unified Action Group for Personal Freedom and not only succeeded in safely recovering the law student but also resulted in the arrest of four members of the Office of Envigado.
The Office of Envigado is a violent drug cartel which was created during the time of Pablo Escobar in Colombia’s second biggest city of Medellin and has links to drug trafficking between the US, Mexico and the UK.
The armed group usually work around Medellin and their presence in the north-east has sparked worry among law enforcement that there may be a spate of kidnappings as the group try and assert dominance, according to El Tiempo newspaper.
The student was found to be healthy and was reunited with her family a few hours after being saved from the ordeal.
Sources
- Rescatan universitaria secuestrada en Cúcuta por ‘Oficina de Envigado’ (El Tiempo)
- Rescatan a joven universitaria secuestrada por la oficina de Envigado (AsiEsCucuta)
- Rescataron a universitaria que duró un mes secuestrada en Cúcuta (Radio SantaFe)
