A police officer briefly shuts down an auto companies store in Bogotá, Colombia, June 26, saying his enterprise allow and different paperwork have been old-fashioned. Authorities are focusing on tire-repair retailers that motorists have flagged for his or her suspected collaboration with pinchallantas, or tire-puncturers.
John Otis for NPR
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John Otis for NPR
BOGOTÁ, Colombia — Getting a flat tire is irritating, however within the Colombian capital of Bogotá, it may be much more maddening as a result of it’s regularly the work of saboteurs.
Aboard bikes, these vandals unfold sharp objects on busy streets to break automotive tires. Then, they provide to steer marooned motorists to close by mechanics who’re suspected of being in on the rip-off, allegedly making extra holes within the tires after which overcharging for repairs.
These flimflam males are generally known as pinchallantas, Spanish for “tire-puncturers.”
“They did it to me,” says Óscar Villanueva a Bogotá architect. “A man on a bike got here as much as me and stated: ‘Your tire is low on air. It’s essential get it patched.’ However he was the one who made the holes.”
Pinchallantas have perfected the observe. Movies on social media present them weaving via site visitors on bikes with sharp objects hooked up to their ankles that they launch by stomping the pavement in entrance of automobiles.
An embedded nail normally creates a gradual leak in a tire which will take hours to go flat. So, they typically litter the roads with sharp, tube-shaped items of steel that trigger tires to deflate instantly.
Bogotá lawyer Felipe Gallo says that as a result of frazzled motorists are normally anxious for a fast repair to allow them to get again on the street, they’re simply suckered into overpaying.
“After they repair the tire, they make extra holes after which they are saying to you: ‘Hey, you could have 4 holes,'” says Gallo, who paid about $150 for a latest restore job. “For that worth, I may have purchased new tires.”
Law enforcement officials briefly shut down a tire-repair store in Bogotá, Colombia, on June 26.
John Otis for NPR
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John Otis for NPR
Pinchallantas have plagued Bogotá for years. However not too long ago there was a surge of citizen complaints concerning the observe, typically numbering greater than 100 per 30 days. Stories about pinchallantas have turn into a staple of TV newscasts, which additionally warn motorists about hassle spots in Bogotá.
Bogotá officers and police have launched a crackdown, however as a result of the con males transfer quick, it is laborious to catch them within the act of puncturing tires. As a substitute, authorities are focusing on tire-repair retailers that motorists have flagged for his or her suspected collaboration with pinchallantas.
Throughout one latest raid, the store proprietor obtained right into a heated debate with cops, and denied any wrongdoing. The police briefly closed him down, saying his enterprise allow and different paperwork have been old-fashioned.
Sabotaging motorists to be able to patch their tires might looks as if a convoluted strategy to strike it wealthy. However quite than one huge payoff, Bogotá safety official Juliana Sáenz says that unscrupulous mechanics rely on a gentle stream of victims. She says they could repair 30 or so flat tires per day, which may add as much as a whole lot of {dollars}.
Gallo, the lawyer, factors out that Colombian swindlers are all the time arising with outlandish methods to shake folks down. He says: “Individuals have a whole lot of creativeness.”
