Emergency crews discovered a bible placed next to the victim’s severed head.
An ex-footballer has been arrested on suspicion of decapitating his friend before setting the body on fire.
Fire crews were called to a grass fire in Curacavi, Chile, where they uncovered the charred remains of a man on April 12. Emergency crews discovered a Bible placed next to the victim’s severed head, with investigators believing the victim had been tortured before his death.
A month into the inquiry, Abel Stiven Carabali, a 30-year-old ex-Colombian footballer, has been detained in Santiago, writes the Mirror.
CCTV footage is understood to show him leaving a car park pushing a trolley, which prosecutors believe his friend’s body was concealed inside, as reported by NeedToKnow.
Authorities allege that Carabali was assisted by a fellow Colombian working as a taxi driver when he loaded the body into a car boot and transported it to Curacavi. There, the pair are alleged to have set the remains ablaze before fleeing the scene.
Carabali had been an amateur footballer in Columbia with connections to Deportivo Cali, one of the nation’s most successful clubs. Prosecutors claim that he became involved in a drug trafficking gang, eventually climbing to a position of leadership, after moving to Chile.
The Colombian victim was had a prior history of drug trafficking offences and while he has not yet been identified by authorities, he and Carabali had reportedly been friends for many years through a shared involvement in football, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutor Carmen Gloria said: “Before the decapitation, he suffered multiple stab wounds that would have been unnecessary if the intention was simply to kill him.
“The way they displayed the body, abandoned it, burned it, dismembered it and left a Bible beside the victim’s head, clearly points to the hallmarks of organised crime.”
Detectives had initially considered a ransom kidnapping as a motive, but an alleged revenge attack linked to drug trafficking has now emerged as the most probable cause.
Officers confiscated drugs and firearms, including a modified military rifle during raids.
Carabali and the taxi driver, aged 51, have been remanded in custody, facing charges of aggravated murder, weapons possession and drug trafficking offences.
Two further alleged gang members have been identified but are yet to be apprehended, according to police.
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