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Helicopter crash at Baja off-road race unleashes string of deaths, morgue raid
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by patgarcia | November 16, 2007 at 06:47 am
13554 views | 17 Recommendations | 6 comments
Videos
Photos
Por El Vigía 2007-11-21 00:00:00Ensenada, B.C. - In the middle of a high security convoy Isaac
Sarabia Tucker, who was hospitalized at the Velmar Hospital was taken
to Mexico city as a "detainee", “arraigado” , according to official
sources. full article in spanish
November 19
There is growing indignation among Baja 1000 lovers and the inhabitants of Ensenada due to the wave of violence, insecurity and fear , the presecence of armed forces around the city who are still looking for the criminals that stole the corpse, and killed two policemen cause a lot of tension.
Baja 1000 has been a family entertainment sport for 40 years in all of Baja, little children have looked up to the pilots as heroes, fathers and sons have gone camping to watch and enjoy the cars passing by, it has been great to the economy of both states, north and south. The majority of citizen oppose and disagree with drug dealers and cartel activities. Unfortunately they seem to be growing and getting stronger, stepping over the rights of the people in Mexico. "El respeto al derecho ajeno es la Paz" said one of our former presidents and heroes, Benito Juarez, meaning "The respect to other's rights is peace" Mexico is not synonimun of drug dealers, there are millions of good hearted people suffering the consequences of corruption and impunity.
[q
url="http://agpnoticias.com/sp/displayimage.php?album=1&pos=16"]Families of policemen Salvador González Quijano and Enrique Lemus Hinojosa cry during their last farewell at the facilities of the Ensenada Police Department ; The officers were murdered by an armed command that stole a corpse from the Medical Forence Service at Ensenada.
.AGP/Alejandro Zepeda[/q]
According to El Universal
ENSENADA. BC. Everything was ready for the starting flag; more than 500
pilots were heating up their engines when a last participant
registered, a pick up truck with the legend "Aztec Warrior" the vehicle
was registered with number 133, the driver without taking off his helmet
greeted one of the organizers and identified himself as "Carlos Garcia"
the mechanical revision of the truck took place without any problem
being watched at all times by armed men traveling in Suburban pick ups.
This form of registration attracted the attention of people around the
desk, especially because they identified elements of the Tijuana police
with the pilot.
Before all these, businessman Ramon Castro from Ensenada rented a
helicopter for the companions of "Carlos Garcia" to follow the race
from the air.
Full report at the link below ( Spanish)
El Universal ENSENADA, BC.—
.
According to Score International driver records vehicle 133 was registered to Juan Carlos Ibarra a well known driver that has been running for many years.
133 JUAN C. IBARRA DNF
I translated the latest news from El UNIVERSAL. Whatever version is presented the Arellano Felix seem to be involved bringing crime and violence to the Baja 1000.
The kidnapped morgue workers are still missing.
The body that was rescued, a nephew of the Arellano's
17 Noviembre 2007
Updated : 12:52 AM Cd. Juárez Time
El Universal
Distrito Federal— Federal Authorities left open the possibility that the body substracted from the facilities of the Medical Forense Service of Ensenada by an armed command belongs to the son of Alicia Arellano Felix,one of the present heads of the cartel of drugs situated in Tijuana, and not that of Francisco Medardo Leon Hinojosa, "El Abulon" as it was informed non-officially yesterday.
Versions provided by authorities close to the investigation of a air accident where two men died and have not been officially identified explained that the one who died was the nephew of the founders of the cartel of the Arellano Brothers, he was traveling in the helicopter that crashed during the Baja Mil.
Aboard the aerocraft Leon Hinojosa "El Abulon" was also traveling, according to the latest versions he was injured and hospitalized at holspital Velmar and guarded by Army and Ministerial Police elements.
Federal authorities had initially pointed in an extraofficial manner, that the son of Alicia Arellano was participating in a vehicle registered with the number 113, but this Friday the authorities presented a new version where it is presumed that a member of the Arellano Felix family was actually aboard the aircraft that crashed.
[q
url="http://www.diario.com.mx/nota.php?notaid=8cce89feb1f76fc7cb1078812e964a94"]Cadáver
rescatado es de un sobrino de los Arellano: versión
17 Noviembre 2007
Actualizado: 12:52 AM hora de Cd. Juárez
El Universal
[/q]
[q
url="http://bajasafari.blogspot.com/2007/11/good-morning-off-road-race-fans-we-are.html"]HELICOPTER
CRASH STORY GOES SIDEWAYS.
Watch video of the crash at the link below[/q]
MEXICO CITY: A mysterious helicopter crash during Baja California's storied Baja 1000 off-road race set off a strange chain of events that left four people dead and two missing after a nighttime raid on a local morgue, officials said Thursday.
The unidentified helicopter had apparently been observing the early stages of the race about 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of the city of Ensenada on Tuesday when it slammed into the ground, killing two of four people aboard and injuring two others. Witnesses said the chopper may have become entangled in power lines.
Questions soon arose about the three passengers who'd been aboard, whom local media initially identified as cameramen filming the race. The pilot survived.
But Jaime Nieto, Ensenada's civil defense director, whose department responded to the crash, said the helicopter was a rental and had no connection with the race's sponsor. "We don't know what they were doing there," he said.
The two injured passengers were taken to a local hospital, and the dead were taken to the Ensenada morgue.
Prosecutors identified one of the dead as a high-ranking drug trafficker, apparently linked to the Tijuana-based Arellano Felix cartel. They could not confirm his name.
On Wednesday night, a commando of armed men in at least a dozen SUVs raided the morgue, kidnapped two morgue employees and fled with one of the corpses, apparently that of the reputed drug trafficker.
The convoy sped away on a rural road toward the border city of Tecate, but on the way encountered an Ensenada police patrol vehicle with two officers inside.
Both police officers were later found shot to death, said an Ensenada law enforcement official who was not authorized to speak on the record.
Mexican drug gangs have gone to great lengths in the past — attacking morgues, ambulances and cemeteries — to recover the bodies of fallen colleagues.
The Baja 1000 race is a notoriously rough 1,296-mile (2,074 kilometer) off-road event for motorcycles, four-wheel and all-terrain vehicles that started Tuesday and ends Friday with awards ceremonies in Cabo San Lucas.
more on Baja 1000
2007 SCORE Baja 1000 - The Finish Line
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (6)
at 04:04 on November 17th, 2007
patgarcia, good stuff! And totally weird.
Have you gathered any more information on this? I hope you keep following this story.
at 04:05 on November 17th, 2007
I think this is an important story and would benefit from other NowPublic contributors working on it. I've flagged it as News Wanted and invite others in relevant locations to look for more evidence.
at 13:48 on November 17th, 2007
patgarcia, thank you for continuing to update this. I'm sure it's only the beginning...
at 09:33 on November 19th, 2007
It's strange how things like this don't show up in mainstream media besides a small snipet if at all. It's nice to be able to come to Now Public and find stories like this from people who are passionate about what is going on in their region and life.
Great Reporting and follow up with more information. This is a strange story but just the latest in a srting od kidnapping and murders recently in Mexico and near the border.
at 20:11 on November 22nd, 2007
The number of the race car is incorrect. It should be 133, you can see it in several of the videos. The registered driver is Juan Carlos Ibarra. He's been racing trophy trucks and class 1 cars for years.
at 22:07 on November 22nd, 2007
Thanks for the observation, different versions have been published some information was given extraofficially, names have been changed and the number of the car also, nothing has been said about the expectators that were hurt, where are they? who are they? What happened to the forensic medic that was kidnapped? There are many loose ends, any information that you can provide will be fully appreciated. I added a note about the vehicle from score international.
www.diario.com.mx/nota.php?notaid=8cce89feb1f76fc7cb1078812e964a94
17 Noviembre 2007
Actualizado: 12:52 AM hora de Cd. Juárez
El Universal Inicialmente
autoridades federales habían señalado, de manera extraoficial, que el
hijo de Alicia Arellano participaba en la carrera en un vehículo
registrado con el número 113, pero este viernes las autoridades
consultadas presentaron una nueva versión en la que presumen que en
realidad el miembro de la familia Arellano Félix iba a bordo de la
aeronave, que se desplomó.
De acuerdo con esta nueva hipótesis, las víctimas del accidente
serían el hijo de Alicia Arellano Félix, quien sólo ha sido
identificado como “Fernando” y probablemente el piloto del helicóptero,
que, sin embargo, oficialmente se encuentra hospitalizado.
www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion/155846.html
Viernes 16 de noviembre de 2007
Se identificó
como “Carlos García”. Más tarde se supo extraoficialmente que se
trataba del hijo de Alicia Arellano Félix, quien forma parte del cártel
de drogas asentado en Tijuana, pero que siempre se mantuvo en la
sombra, incluso de su hermana Enedina, ubicada por México y Estados
Unidos, como cabeza actual de la banda criminal.
El vehículo
fue registrado con el número 133 y pasó la revisión mecánica sin
problema. En todo momento la acción estuvo vigilada por varios hombres
armados que viajaban en camionetas Suburban, también de modelo
reciente.