A 17-year-old 'black widow' was caught and exposed two criminal gangs in Zavaleta.

A 17-year-old teenager known as "Noelia" ended up behind bars and her downfall exposed a larger criminal network. Her capture allowed the City Police to dismantle two gangs operating from Villa 21-24 Zavaleta that used the "black widows" method: women who drugged men to loot their homes.

The young woman was arrested when she was trying to sell on social media a pair of sneakers she had stolen from one of her victims. What seemed like an isolated case turned into a large-scale investigation, with eight people arrested in total and direct links between two criminal groups.

A key arrest and the tip of the iceberg

The case began on April 16, 2024, when a man reported that he had been drugged and robbed in his apartment on Malabia Street. The building's security cameras captured the moment when the young woman involved allowed two accomplices to enter, and then the three escaped with a suitcase full of stolen items.

Although her age was initially unknown, the victim managed to identify several of the items that later appeared for sale on social media. Prosecutor María Eugenia Sagasta and Judge Cristian Von Leers authorized an undercover operation: a female officer posed as an interested buyer for the sneakers and arrested Noelia in Barracas.

The minor's phone was a Pandora's box. In her messages appeared the name of "Ricky," a 24-year-old man with a criminal record and on parole since March of last year. He acted as a kind of "community manager" and coach for the thieves: he managed their social media profiles, coordinated contacts, and defined deception strategies.

An organized structure and a "school" for black widows

The investigation expanded. Other key names appeared: "Lucas" and "Aye," both based in Villa Zavaleta. Lucas was identified in footage entering apartments during the robberies, while Aye was identified as the recruiter of new "black widows."

Investigators discovered that these gangs not only carried out robberies, but also had a kind of "training system" where new members were indoctrinated. It was a school of crime: young women learned how to approach victims, which sedatives to use, and how to move inside homes without arousing suspicion.

The modus operandi was as calculated as it was cruel. First, they created fake profiles on dating apps and collected social and economic data from the men. Once chosen, they arranged a meeting. At the date, the young women offered a drink with sedatives and, when the victim lost consciousness, the accomplices entered. They took everything they could and, before leaving, reinforced the effect of the narcotic to buy more time.

One of the gangs even had an internal signal, nicknamed "La banda de la Coreo," for a kind of choreography that indicated the start of the assault.

An unexpected twist: the death of a thief

One of the links in this network, Ricky himself, was also linked to another case that had a fatal outcome. The "black widow" on that occasion was a young woman named Lucía, who acted in the town of Remedios de Escalada, in Buenos Aires province.

But the plan failed. The victim didn't fall completely asleep, managed to grab his weapon, and shot at the thieves when they broke into his house. One of them died on the spot. The others fled, but left cell phones behind in the vehicle they abandoned during their escape. That oversight was key to their identification and subsequent arrest.

Lucía was located at a relative's house in Liniers, while the other two accomplices were later arrested in Flores and again in Villa Zavaleta.