2024-02-13 15:28:42
Foto: Shutterstock
Text: Hugo León
Spanish authorities dismantled a criminal network dedicated to the theft and sale of corpses in a funeral home in Valencia, sources from the European nation reported.
According to local media reports, the gang falsified documentation to remove the bodies from hospitals and residences, and thus be able to sell them to universities for 1,200 euros each.
The National Police reported that, in addition, the group billed more than five thousand euros to a university for cremating 11 bodies, once they had been studied. These cremations did not appear in the invoices issued by any of the institutions dedicated to this process in the city.
The investigators were able to verify that two funeral home workers had taken possession of a body that was in a hospital morgue after falsifying several documents and had taken it to a university, instead of burying it.
The body was sold for around 1,200 euros without the consent of the family or those close to the deceased.
After several investigations, the authorities found other cases with the same procedure. In addition, they discovered that irregularities occurred in the cremations of the corpses, supposedly donated to science.
Apparently, after charging for the cremations, the accused took advantage of the dissection and dismemberment of the corpses to place them in the coffins of other deceased people, charging for each cremation but avoiding paying for them.
Finally, four people related to the events were arrested. The defendants face charges of fraud and document falsification but were provisionally released after testifying to the authorities.