Mexico - Narco State > Where it used to be safe to be a tourist

 

Fourth body discovered in well where US, Australian

surfers were reportedly found dead in Mexico

By 

Social Links forDana Kennedy

Published May 4, 2024, 4:10 p.m. ET

A fourth body has been discovered in a 50-foot deep well in Baja California, Mexico where an American and two Australian surfers were found dead, authorities revealed.

Meanwhile, one of the three suspects taken into custody by Mexican authorities reportedly had one of the tourists’ phones on her when she was arrested — and all three allegedly had drugs on them.

Mexican officials have not officially confirmed that the three bodies found in a well hole last week are Georgia resident Jack Carter Rhoad, 30, and Australian brothers Callum, 33, and Jake Robinson, 30.

But two news outlets, Border Report and FOX 5 San Diego, citing a source in the Baja California Attorney General’s office, say the dead bodies are those of the three missing surfers.

6

Australian brothers Callum and Jake Robinson are believed to be two of the three

dead bodies discovered in Mexico on Friday.Callum Robinson/Instagram

They were believed to have been camping out at a popular surf spot known as La Bocana in the beautiful Mexican countryside — about 130 miles south of San Diego, when they were reported missing last Saturday.

Police later arrested Jesús Gerardo Garcia Cota, alias El Kekas, his partner Ari Gisel García Cota, and Jesus’ brother Cristian Alejandro Garcia.

All had methamphetamine and other illegal narcotics on them at the time of their arrest, according to local news blogs Talk Baja and Zeta Tijuana.

6

One of the three suspects taken into custody by Mexican authorities reportedly had one of the tourists’ phones on her when she was arrested — and all three allegedly had drugs on them.KTLA5

Ari Gisel Garcia Cota, 23, was allegedly nabbed with one of the surfer’s phones as well as the drugs.

The fourth body was identified as a ranch owner who was reported missing two weeks ago, officials said.

He owned the property where the bodies were found, the attorney general said.

The trio were on a surfing vacation in the port city of Ensenada, just 80 miles south of San Diego, a trip they were documenting on social media until last Saturday, when the posts mysteriously stopped and they failed to arrive at an Airbnb.

Stevenson University in Baltimore issued a statement mourning the death of Callum Robinson, who graduated in 2015 and was a star lacrosse player at the school and then played for the Premier Lacrosse League.

Indonesia Police Foil ‘ISIS-Linked Rocket Attack’ on Singapore

Indonesian anti-terror police and an identification team are seen outside a building during a raid in Batam, Riau Islands, Indonesia, August 5, 2016. © Antara Foto / M N Kanwa / Reuters

Counter-terrorism police in Indonesia have arrested six men suspected of having links to Islamic State for allegedly plotting a rocket attack on Singapore's “vital objects and busy areas.”

The men were captured on Batam island, just 15 miles (24km) southeast of Singapore. The Batam Pos daily quoted police as saying the suspects, all Indonesian, were mostly factory workers, aged between 19 and 46, Reuters reported.

Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement it was aware of the attack plot: "Our security agencies have been coordinating closely with the Indonesian authorities since the discovery of this attack plot, to monitor the activities of the group and to apprehend those involved."

Indonesian police spokesman Agus Rianto told reporters the suspects had teamed up with a member of Islamic State in Syria.

“We have strong indications that the six men were planning to launch a rocket at Singapore’s Marina Bay from Batam,” the spokesman said, according to AP, referring to a busy area packed with waterside restaurants and tourist attractions.

"What we understand so far is that they were planning to attack vital objects, busy areas including police offices," Rianto told Reuters.

Asked whether police had recovered any physical evidence of a rocket attack, Rianto replied "not yet." 

Police said the six men are suspected of having links to Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian believed to be a high-ranking member of IS.

According to Indonesian investigators, Naim was one of the masterminds behind the mid-January terrorist attack in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, in which eight people were killed - four of them attackers.

Naim was also linked to a suicide bombing outside a local police station in the city of Solo in early July. The bomber, who was killed during the attack, had been taught to build explosive devices by Naim, the Straits Times reported. 

Security experts in Indonesia fear that Naim, along with other Islamic State leaders, has recently switched focus from the fight in the Middle East to attacks at home, Reuters reported.

Islamic State’s intelligence service, called Emni in Arabic, has already sent fighters to Austria, Germany, Spain, Lebanon, Tunisia, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia, the New York Times reported, citing the accounts of operatives who have been arrested.

"One thing I think is clear is Bahrun Naim has been able to establish a lot of communication with a lot of people through his social media network," Jakarta-based security analyst Sidney Jones told Reuters.