The afternoon of December 1, 2025 revealed a new criminal modality that advances with stealth over the City of Buenos Aires. This time, the setting was Puerto Madero, one of the most guarded enclaves in the country. Without displaying weapons, without violence and without breaking anything at all, a thief carried out a million-dollar theft using a signal jammer and once again highlighted the growth of technological crime.
The incident occurred on Martha Salotti Street, right in front of the exclusive Faena Hotel, a point where public and private cameras and constant patrols converge. Even so, the criminal acted as if he had the area studied to the millimeter. According to the complaint, the victim had arrived at noon to visit high-end dealerships. In his Volkswagen Golf GTI he carried two brown bags with USD 40,000 (about 60 million pesos) intended for the purchase of a vehicle.
After parking and activating the central locking, he entered the commercial premises without concern. Minutes later, a robust individual, around 1.75 meters tall, with a dark complexion and wearing a black jacket with clear inscriptions, approached the car. Occasional witnesses had seen him prowling around, but nothing in his attitude attracted attention until, hidden in the routine of the neighborhood, he activated a frequency jammer. The device overrode the remote locking, leaving the vehicle vulnerable without any alarm sounding.
With a disturbing naturalness, the individual opened the door of the Golf as if it were his own, took the bags with the money and walked away at a firm pace. There was no violence or rush: just seconds of surgical intervention. He then boarded a white Volkswagen that was waiting nearby and disappeared into the traffic in the area. The victim returned around 3:30 p.m. The panorama was disconcerting: the car was intact, with no broken glass or signs of break-in, but the bags had disappeared.
That detail—the absolute lack of damage—is precisely the trademark of hits with inhibitors, a modality that has become frequent in Palermo, Recoleta and Núñez, and that is now also consolidated in Puerto Madero. The City Police review hours of footage to reconstruct the sequence and confirm if the suspect acted with logistical support. The victim mentioned a white Gol Trend stopped in a double row that could have operated as a getaway vehicle.
The case, classified as theft, reactivated alarms among neighbors and merchants in the neighborhood, who maintain that, despite the strong police presence, the inhibitors already overcome traditional prevention mechanisms. The investigation must determine if the author belongs to a gang specialized in quick robberies, without violence and aimed at money transported in private cars.
While experts analyze images, footprints and patterns of action, a question once again appears on the Buenos Aires security agenda: if a thief can steal USD 40,000 in front of one of the most sophisticated and guarded hotels in the country without leaving traces, what possibilities do citizens have in the rest of the city?
The coup in Puerto Madero – precise, silent and million-dollar – confirms that technological crime advances faster than the tools to stop it. And it makes it clear that, in the dispute between inhibitors and controls, for now, the balance tilts dangerously towards the side of crime.
by RN
