Youth Killed Over Father’s Alleged Drug Debt, Police Say

A 17-year-old Paramount youth who turned up murdered near Tijuana last week was abducted by traffickers furious at his father for an alleged drug debt, a Mexican police official said Thursday.

The bullet-riddled body of the teen-ager, who was abducted from his Paramount home, was found along a road east of the border city on July 27--a day after $100,000 in ransom was supposed to have been handed off to a kidnaping accomplice at a Tijuana park, said Gerardo Visaiz Gonzalez, deputy chief homicide investigator for the Baja California State Judicial Police in Tijuana. The ransom never materialized.

Irate kidnapers then telephoned the boy’s anxious family and advised them: “Better you wait for the wake,” according to Visaiz. It was the final call of many between the abductors and the victim’s family, the official said.

Hours later, police say, the kidnapers drove the blindfolded and bound victim from Tijuana to a spot east of town, removed him from the vehicle and shot him 16 times under cover of darkness. The youth, Jorge Alejandro Ayon Osuna, had spent almost a month in custody, Visaiz said.

Traffickers grabbed the victim in an effort to force his father, Jose Ayon, to settle an alleged drug debt of $800,000, Visaiz said. Through telephone negotiations, the Mexican official explained, the ransom demand was ultimately reduced to $100,000, and a payment rendezvous was set at a park near the Tijuana Racetrack.

The father, who told authorities he was a car salesman, has returned to Mexico with his family and was unavailable for comment. The youth had no known drug ties, Visaiz said.

“I don’t think the boy’s activities had anything to do with this,” said Visaiz, who said Mexican authorities have coordinated their inquiries with the FBI. FBI spokesman John Hoos declined comment.

The bureau investigates international kidnapings.

Two suspects are in custody in Tijuana and three others are being sought, Visaiz said. All five are Mexican nationals with known links to the drug underworld, the official said.

The teen-ager was confronted by several armed men outside his home on the morning of June 30, and forced into a van, police said.

The kidnapers contacted the family, demanding money in exchange for his return.