In Colombia, thousands of cell phones are stolen each year and sold elsewhere — especially by motorcycle thieves in Colombia
Many of those who steal cell phones do so by using a gun and a motorcycle
In which one person rides around on a motorcycle with someone else riding on the pillion of the motorcycle with a gun
Therefore, once they found someone to steal from, they stop the motorcycle
And just point the gun at you demanding you give them your belongings
Moreover, they don’t just stop individuals on the street but cars as well
Motorcycle thieves in Colombia have become such an issue that they recently banned men from riding as pillion passengers in Bogota in 2018
Which ended up making a lot of Colombians mad and protests erupted
While other Colombians were happy about the news from what I saw in Bogota and felt it was a good measure to help tackle the crime from motorcycle thieves in Colombia
The reality is that this is a very big issue for Colombia as motorcycle thieves are stealing everyday
For myself personally, I have seen or heard about motorcycle thieves in Colombia multiple times over the years here
As described elsewhere on this website where I lay out an example of this happening to me personally
And there have been other times in my life where it has happened aside from that…
Example 1:
For example, this type of incident one time happened to someone else I saw while at a restaurant in the night
While in Barranquilla, I was eating a normal restaurant in a not very touristy part of the city with my girlfriend about ayear ago
We were both enjoying our meal and there weren’t too many people outside
It was a very quiet street that also didn’t have too many lights either
We mostly stopped here because we were hungry and it was near a park we wanted to visit since we try to visit a new place in Bogota or elsewhere in Colombia once a week
And we hadn’t been in Barranquilla for some time
So anyway, we are eating and nothing is happening just yet
Across the street, we see a guy by himself who is dressed in a nice buttoned white t-shirt and was about average in height
He is on the phone by himself sitting on a bench
When a motorcycle drives by and stops as the guy gets up
The guy isn’t paying much attention to the two guys on the motorcycle
The guy who was on the pillion seat was a bit fat and a little bit taller than the guy on the phone
He gets up from his seat and I guess just spends a few seconds not doing much while standing up
Once the guy on the phone has his back completely turned to them, the guy from the motorcycle just snatches the phone from the other guy
Right then, he takes the phone and gets on the motorcycle in which they just drive away
That’s it
The guy probably didn’t have any way to identify these two
There definitely were not any cameras in the area because it wasn’t that touristy
And the police here in Colombia are not known for solving these crimes very well
So unfortunately for this guy, he lost his phone and that was it
I assume that the motorcycle guys in this incident didn’t have a gun on them
Because they most likely would have threatened him with the gun or weapon and demand his wallet and other possessions also
So I guess he was lucky in that regard since they only snatched the phone and drove away without taking anything else or harming the guy
Example 2: Theft in the Taxi
When I was living in Cali, I encountered an incident in which someone stole my stuff from a motorcycle while aiming a gun at me and another girl I was with.
However, I knew someone else who had a similar incident happen to him
While in Cali, I met a British guy named Adam
Adam and I were going to meet up one night to have a few drinks and maybe even find some chicks to approach at some of the bars here to get a few numbers
Well, I show up to the bar where we were going to meet
And for Adam, it was not common for him to ever show up late to anything
He would usually show up on time with no problem
Well, in this case, he was a bit late
I tried calling him but he never answered
Finally, Adam shows up an hour and more late to the bar that we were going to start the night at
When he gets to me, he looked a bit pissed off and shaken at the same time as I was already sitting in the bar having a drink by that point
Since I assumed he wasn’t making it by then
So I ask him what happened
Basically he took a taxi from the street that offered a pretty cheap price for the ride to the bar
On the way to the bar, Adam noticed that the taxi driver was taking an unusual route to the bar
And went to some area of Cali that he didn’t recognize well
Then a motorcycle stopped the taxi car with a guy getting off the motorcycle and aims the gun at Adam
The taxi driver tells him to give him his stuff and he does
And then Adam gets out of the taxi and takes everything out of his pockets
The taxi driver goes away without having to give anything up himself and the motorcycle guy is gone as well
With Adam not sure where he is
But he takes a walk and supposedly finds a busy street not too far from where he was left off
And manages to get another taxi there
And fortunately for him, he had some money hidden away in his shoe and they only took his “throw down” wallet that he used in case he was to get robbed
So he had some money for the taxi ride to the bar but not much for drinks
So we didn’t spend too much time that night because I didn’t have much money on person but I covered his drinks that night at the bar we were at
Later on, Adam told me that he did report this to the police. But nothing ever happened and he never got his stuff back – his “throw down wallet” and his burner phone.
Final Thoughts
In these incidents, it is clear how dangerous crime can be with motorcycle thieves in Colombia
It is quite a common occurrence and something you need to be careful about
In my opinion, some of it boils down to luck
If you are unlucky at the wrong place at the wrong time, it just happens
And you can’t predict it will happen.
However, there are some basic things you can do to protect yourself
First, don’t be like Adam and don’t pick a taxi from the street that is random and may not even be official. According to Adam, the taxi he went in didn’t even look like a real taxi but was some guy claiming to offer taxi services.
Look up what are the official taxis businesses in the city you are in and use them.
Second, have a throw down wallet with some money that you wouldn’t mind losing and hide money elsewhere on person.
Moreover, with the rest of the money you hide on person, make sure it isn’t too much. Maybe 50 bucks at most in Colombian pesos.
Have a burner phone and always carry that with you. No expensive phones. It’s easier to replace a burner phone than an expensive phone.
Additionally, protect yourself with a money belt or a travel pouch so that your belongings are less likely to be stolen
Be aware of your surroundings.
Therefore, avoid areas known for crime or to be dangerous and areas that are not well lit.
Finally, if it does happen, cooperate. Your life is more valuable than the things that are to be stolen and don’t try to be a herodefending yourself. They have a gun and are not afraid to use it.
Overall, hope this article was helpful. If you have any questions or insight, offer below in the comment section. Thanks and take care.
Did you like this story? Read more for story 21
Hasta luego parceros,
Seth
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