crime

Estates raided in missing statue case

CARLOS LEMOS/LA PRENSA

one of three estates searched in penonomé1094827

Hot on the trail of missing “Juegos de Antaño” statues, anti-corruption officials led a search of four properties owned by Panamanian businessman and associate of President Martín Torrijos, Carlos Baby Araúz, in Penonomé, in the province of Coclé.

Authorities toured three of Araúz’s estates, one of which boasts a bullring frequented by President Martín Torrijos and other government officials. The entrepreneur’s so-called “push-button” motel nearby was also searched, by the police but to no avail.

The inspectors with the prosecutor’s office were acting on several anonymous tips received by the Dirección de Investigación Judicial (DIJ), indicating that the sculpture was hidden in a barn in the city of Penonomé.

The day of the search, DIJ officials raised the amount of the reward for the monument’s discovery from $5,000 to $10,000, with the hopes that more people will come forward with information.

Araúz, who was not in Penonomé at the moment of the raids, affirmed that he knows nothing of the whereabouts of the 42 missing pieces of the sculpture.

“I’ve only ever seen those statues in the newspaper,” said Araúz, in his defense.

“They say that a 'tip' led them to [Penonomé], but that’s no reason [to lead a search].”

According to preliminary investigations, ran by police authorities, some 10 agents of the Servicio de Protección Institucional (SPI) were responsible for helping park employees store the statues within a warehouse in Parque Omar. One of those agents said that one of the human statues was so heavy that it took eight people to lift it.