12 February 2025 , 20:10
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Footage released by police in the Mexican state of Tabasco show the moment sledgehammer-wielding officers attempt to smash through the walls of a teen’s concrete tomb.
Twisted members of a drug gang entombed a teenager alive in a wall after using him to pedal their product.
Shock footage released by police in Tabasco, Mexico, shows the moment officers smash through a stone wall and find a 19-year-old man who was imprisoned in a tiny space behind it. The sledgehammer-wielding police can be seen punching holes in what look like freshly laden blocks of cement as they try to gain access to the teen.
According to local media, he was imprisoned by cartel members fighting for control of the Mexican state after being forced to sell their drugs in the city of Villahermosa. He was believed to have only recently been imprisoned when he was discovered by local authorities on February 5, and was languishing in unsanitary conditions.
Infobae reports that the operation earlier this month recovered the teen, identified only as Rafael "N", from a building in the Punta Brava neighbourhood. Officials from the local Attorney General’s Office (FGJ) have not told how they learned of the young man’s imprisonment, and added that they were unsure as to how long the teen had been trapped.
The young man hailed from Chiapas, a neighbouring state of Tabasco around three hours away from Villahermosa. He was discovered following a separate incident in which police found three women abandoned throughout different parts of Tabasco, each of whom was believed to be under the influence of narcotics.
One of the women was found in the centre of Nacajuca, with witnesses reporting that she was taken out of a truck by a group of men, who left her on a nearby pavement. She appeared disoriented and couldn’t provide details about her identity, and police were called to protect her and return her home.
In a second case, a woman and girl were recovered from the Gaviotas Sur area after they were spotted by neighbours who said they were lost and asking for help. One of the two - who reportedly hailed from Mexico City - said she didn’t know how she ended up in Tabasco, local paper El Heraldo reported, while the second girl - believed to be just 15 years old - was seen crying and screaming.
The teen was taken to relatives in Nacajuca, and authorities have since launched an investigation to determine whether the incidents are connected.