So, it seems this band of Peruvians have been murdering people, extracting the fat from the bodies and then selling it for U$15,000 per litre. A direct translation from this news story in El Comercio today. And no, this is not a hoax. Enjoy.
Traffickers killed and sold human fat for U$15,000 per litre
Member of the band known as 'Los Pishtacos' confessed their crimes. They are attributed with the deaths of 60 rural dwelling people in Huánuco and Pasco.
Hilario Cudeña Simón, Segundo Castillejos Agüero, Marcos Veramendi Príncipe and Enadina Estela Claudio were arrested on Monday for the crime of homicide for payment and illegal association to commit crimes against the state.
The chief of the Dirincri police force, Eusebio Félix Murga , confirmed that the suspects lured their victims to quiet spots by deception where they decapitated them and then took them to laboratories to extract human fat from the dead bodies. Sometimes they even put together their own rudimentary labs.
"The fat was taken from the thoraxes and muscles" said Félix Murga.
The members of the group known as 'Los Pishtacos' are understood to have murdered 60 rural dwellers in Huánuco and Pasco and then sold their fat for a price of U$15,000 per litre to Europe.
"From the quantity of fat that has been sold, we can deduce there are many victims. The investigations continue because many people do not report the disappearances of family members."
According to police, the suspects admit to carrying out their crimes for around 30 years.
UPDATE: Better late than never, the English language newswires have decided to love this story, too. Here's Reuters, here's AP and here's AFP.