Robberies Perpetrated By Heavily Armed Criminals in Panama: Pizzeria, Bus, Jewelry Store & More

In recent days, a series of robberies perpetrated by heavily armed criminals has caused alarm in different parts of the country.  Last Tuesday night, four robbers broke into the Leonardo pizzeria, located in Brisas del Golf, in the district of San Miguelito, and stole money from the cash register. Three of the robbers entered the premises with assault rifles, while a fourth guarded the entrance.  That same Tuesday, at 7:35 p.m., five armed men robbed the Vintage Jewelry store, located in the Sheraton Hotel, taking an as yet unspecified amount of jewelry and valuable items.  A bus on the Panama-Border route was assaulted by four criminals who got on pretending to be passengers. The robbery occurred in the Gariché area, where, in a sparsely populated area, the criminals threatened the driver and forced him to stop the vehicle. Then, they ordered the passengers to hand over money, mobile phones and valuables.  So far, no arrests have been reported in connection with these cases. 

Many store robberies occurred recently in Boquete including Romero’s food store burglarized while closed and a variety of other downtown merchants.  An incident occurred on September 8, 2024 when the accused, according to preliminary reports, entered a restaurant, located in Bajo Boquete, after smashing one of the glass doors of the establishment. Once inside, several items were taken from the premises, leading to the complaint and subsequent apprehension.  Bluefin Restaurant in Boquete is the latest victim of a break-in.  The offices of Retrogusto were broken into 9/5/24 – 9/6/24.  The offices are located behind the restaurant.  Computers etc. were taken.  The Italian restaurant across from Mike’s Global Grill in Boquete has been burglarized.  There have been at least 35 thefts in the last two months in Boquete. 

Numerous suspects who burglarized Valle Escondido in Boquete were taken in custody by the National Police.  A VE resident reported to security that someone entered her residence through an unlocked window and stole an iPhone.  A different VE resident, who was burglarized on August 21, also reported to security that his cameras captured individuals outside his residence at 4am.  One of the individuals was wearing the same custom golf shoes that were stolen from his home on the 21st.  VE security in conjunction with the owner of the stolen cellphone, were able to get a location of that device at an “abandoned” indigenous housing camp off the Pianista trail.  The directors reached out to the Chiriqui Police commissioner.  The property manager of that farm gave permission to search that building and stated that the main building of the farm was also recently burglarized.  The police raided the location. They found the cellphone and many other items in different rooms of the building including the golf shoes that were stolen on the 21st.  A suspect ran but the police took five individuals into custody for questioning. The suspect who ran was found and taken into custody and one of the victims burglarized positively identified him.