Peruvian gang kills victims for human fat

A Peruvian gang known as the “Pishtacos” has been accused of killing dozens of people in an effort to extract liquid fat from their dead corpses. The fat is then sold in the black market for use in cosmetics and anti-wrinkle creams.

The method of extracting the liquid fat is horrendous to say the least. Police enforcement in Peru admit that the gang from the remote Huanuco province would cut off the victim’s head, arms, legs, and remove the organs. Afterward, the suspects would suspend the torsos from hooks above candles that warmed the flesh as the fat dripped into tubs below.

Three suspects have already confessed to killing five people, said Col. Jorge Mejia, chief of Peru’s anti-kidnapping police. Two of the suspects were arrested carrying bottles of liquid fat, that were said to be worth $60,000 a gallon. Police suspect that there are dozens of other victims.

Law enforcement in Peru suspect that the fat was sold to cosmetic companies in Europe, but could not confirm any sales. Medical experts expressed doubt that human fat would sell in the international black market. However, the substance is known to have some cosmetic uses.

Yale University dermatology professor Dr. Lisa Donofrio speculated that a small market may exist for “human fat extracts” to keep skin supple, though scientifically such treatments are “pure baloney.”

Medical authorities reached by The Associated Press said human fat is used in anti-wrinkle treatments, but is always extracted from the patient being treated, usually from the stomach or buttocks.

“There would be a risk of immunological reaction that could lead to life-threatening consequences” if fat from someone else were used, said Dr. Neil Sadick, a professor of dermatology at Cornell Weill Medical College in New York.

According to Mejia, six members of the gang remain at large. The band’s fugitive leader, 56-year-old Hilario Cudena, has been killing to extract fat from victims for more than three decades.

I share my thoughts about this story in the broadcast below. I want to point out that this grotesque practice is not widespread in Peru. This is happening in a very remote area of the country by a handful of insane people.