EON

“Gangs killed to steal fat?” This was the question that puzzled everyone in this community in Peru. A gang of killers were arrested because they murdered their victims and sold their fat for money. It is believed that they found their victims on deserted roads and lured them into their huts to talk to them about a business proposition. It was not determined how many people were killed by the gang, but theory has it, that the gang has been doing this for years. Police say that over the years there have been about 60 peasants that have disappeared and have not been found. It was in this area that the gang murderers were found, so police think that they have found the answer to the disappearances.

The gang members are known as ‘Los Pishtacos.’ The mythology of Peruvian culture describes a pishtaco as a devil that kills people to steal their fat. One of the gang members, Serapio Veramendi, gave a description of how they killed their victims. They used a tool to cut off the victim’s heads. Then they would put the bodies on hooks and let them hang. Then they would place 6 to 8 candles underneath them and then wait 2 to 3 days and this is when the fat would drip into the bottles. Then, they would sell the fat to European cosmetic companies for thousands of dollars.