The armed assaults by criminals on bank customers that are so frequently reported in Guadalajara are now becoming more common in the lakeside area.
This newspaper knows of three cases in the last month in which customers have been followed and assaulted by bandits on a motorcycle after making large cash withdrawals from bank branches.
The modus operandi is nearly always the same. The criminals follow their target, waiting until they are in a vulnerable location. One stays on the motorbike while the other jumps off and holds their victims at gunpoint, grabbing the money before fleeing quickly.
Two recent cases have been reported in Chapala affecting clients from the Santander bank, and one last week at the BBVA Bancomer branch on the plaza in Ajijic. Investigations are presumably moving ahead, although this newspaper has been unable to get further details from Chapala authorities.
Police say these gangs of criminals always have one person inside the bank pretending to be a client who is on the lookout for clients withdrawing large sums of cash. Unaccompanied people are particularly vulnerable to the bandits, as are clients leaving branches on foot with wads of banknotes.
To avoid being targeted by these gangs, authorities urge all persons withdrawing large amounts of cash to always go accompanied.