Suspended first-division soccer goalkeeper Omar ''El Gato'' Ortiz has
been arrested for alleged participation in a kidnapping ring, Mexican
police announced Saturday.
Ortiz, whose nickname means ''The Cat,'' has been under a suspension
after testing positive for steroids in April 2010, when he was playing
with the Rayados of Monterrey.
Jorge Domene, the security spokesman for Nuevo Leon state, where Monterrey is located, said Ortiz worked with a gang responsible for at least 20 kidnappings.
Domene said Ortiz's job was to select wealthy victims because he moved in the same social circles.
The gang's victims allegedly included the husband of pop singer Gloria
Trevi. Trevi has avoided commenting on the abduction, which reportedly
occurred in October, but comments by Domene and state Attorney General
Adrian de la Garza appeared to confirm that kidnapping. Her husband was
apparently quickly freed.
The officials said Ortiz and three alleged accomplices were arrested
earlier this week. They appeared to have no lawyer of record.
Ortiz is alleged to have become active in kidnappings that occurred in
the second half of 2011. The gang allegedly demanded around 1 million
pesos ($72,000) for the release of each victim.
Some local media in Monterrey had speculated that Ortiz himself had
been abducted after he disappeared from view Wednesday. But prosecutors
said he had been arrested at his home in a Monterrey suburb that day
after two kidnapping suspects were detained Monday and implicated him in
the crimes.
Prosecutors said that the suspects confessed to the abductions and that
four criminal complaints had been filed against the gang. If convicted,
Ortiz and the others could face prison sentences of up to 50 years.
Jesus, he had it all yet he's ruined his life. What a cunt.
He was actually a really good keeper too and also quite a character. Even earned a solitary cap for Mexico.
