Bodies of five kidnap victims found in Chorrera

The bodies of five young men who had been kidnapped and murdered were recovered Thursday  September 18 under a home in Chorrera.

They were all  children of Asian traders, and the discovery has sent shock waves throughthe local community which has been faced with  growing criminal activity in recent months.

The remains were found   in an open pit in the floor of a home in  El Trapichito, La Chorrera.

The  Police Directorate of Judicial Investigation (DIJ) is holding a a suspect from the Dominican Republic nationality, who had rented the house for a year.

According to authorities, the suspect  is responsible for kidnapping and murdering the young men, and  asking for money for ransom money.

The man, had been  engaged in repairing mobile phones in the house,  and had placed tarps on the fence, and  boarded up the windows to keep out prying neighbors.

To recover the bodies, the Public Ministry officials had to use special equipment to drill  through tiles and a concrete slab covering the burial site.

Police found  $100,000 believed to be part of ransom demands along with  a suitcase containing clothes and other items presumed to belong to the victims. 

Although authorities have not confirmed the identities of the dead youngsters they are believed to be of young men kidnapped at different times.

The first to be kidnapped was a 19 year old in October 2010, who was a student at the  Technological University. 

His car was found abandoned at the La Chorrera fair.

In December last year, another young man was also kidnapped while traveling to Panama City  on a shopping expedition.

The last three were kidnapped 10 days ago, when they headed for the University of Panama. The car they were riding in was found in Monte Limar, in La Chorrera.

Forensic experts said the bodies of the victims were sprayed with lime to speed decomposition.