Ex-footballer arrested after friend’s beheaded body found in suitcase | Football | Sport

A former footballer has been detained on suspicion of decapitating his friend before incinerating his body. Firefighters were summoned to a grass fire in Curacavi, Chile, when they stumbled upon the burnt remains of a man’s body on the night of April 12.

Emergency crews discovered a Bible placed next to the victim’s severed head. Police investigators suspect the victim had been subjected to torture prior to being murdered. Earlier this month, Abel Stiven Carabali, 30, an ex-Colombian footballer, was apprehended in Santiago. CCTV footage is reported to capture him departing a car park in the Chilean capital with a trolley. Prosecutors suspect his friend’s body was concealed inside the cart, as reported by NeedToKnow.

Authorities claim Carabali, assisted by another Colombian working as a taxi driver, positioned the body in a car boot and transported it to Curacavi. There, the suspects allegedly ignited the body before fleeing.

In Colombia, Carabali had been an amateur footballer with connections to Deportivo Cali, one of the nation’s most accomplished clubs. Prosecutors state that after establishing himself in Chile, he became part of a drug trafficking gang and ultimately ascended to a leadership position.

The victim was also Colombian and had a record of drug trafficking offences. His identity has not been disclosed.

He and Carabali had been friends for at least eight years through football, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutor Carmen Gloria Guevara told local media: “Before the decapitation, he suffered multiple stab wounds that would have been unnecessary if the intention was simply to kill him.

“The way they displayed the body, abandoned it, burned it, dismembered it and left a Bible beside the victim’s head, clearly points to the hallmarks of organised crime.”

Initially, detectives suspected an abduction for ransom, but as enquiries developed, a score-settling connected to narcotics trafficking became the most suspected motive.

During raids, officers recovered drugs and firearms of different calibres, including a weapon altered to resemble a military rifle.

Both Carabali and the taxi driver, 51, have been held in custody. They face charges of aggravated murder, along with weapons possession and drug trafficking offences. Prosecutors say two additional suspected gang members have been identified but remain at large.