Beauty queen shot dead after octopus ceviche order led killers to restaurant

Landy Parraga, who was killed when armed men burst into a restaurant where she was eating

An Ecuadorian beauty queen was killed after gunmen located the restaurant she was at through her Instagram post of octopus ceviche.

Authorities are looking into the shooting of 23-year-old Landy Párraga amid speculation from the media that the hit was ordered by the widow of a drug lord she allegedly had a relationship with.

Párraga, a beauty queen and social media influencer, was shot shortly after her name came up in a corruption investigation linking judicial officials to organized crime.

She had just shared a photo of her lunch, octopus ceviche, with her 173,000 Instagram followers when two armed men entered the restaurant in Quevedo and shot at her multiple times. The restaurant's security cameras recorded the attack. Reports say she was hit three times and died soon after.

Párraga, who came in fifth in the 2022 Miss Ecuador pageant, was reportedly involved with Leandro Norero, a married drug dealer who died in a prison riot a year and a half ago.

The 23-year-old is suspected of laundering money for her drug baron lover

Authorities discovered photos of Párraga and evidence of expensive gifts, like apartments and cars, on Norero's phone after his death.

"If my wife finds out anything about her, I'm in trouble," Norero reportedly said about Párraga to an alleged associate, Helive Ángulo. "My friend, her name cannot be revealed anywhere. Otherwise, my world will collapse."

Ángulo is among about 50 people facing charges in Operation Metastasis, an investigation into a criminal network accused of corrupting Ecuadorian officials.

This corruption scandal came to light last December, leading to numerous arrests. This was shortly followed by a surge in violence as gangs held prison guards and police officers hostage.

President Daniel Noboa, who took office recently, responded by deploying the military against the 22 gangs the government labeled as terrorist groups.

The octopus ceviche which Ms Párraga posted online shortly before her death

Norero's widow, Lina Romero, is accused of attempting to bribe judges and prosecutors. Police are also looking into whether Párraga was involved in money laundering for Norero.

Párraga, with over a million TikTok followers, owned a sports clothing brand and an importing business, suspected by authorities to be a front for Norero's illegal activities.

Norero, known as "el Patron" (the Boss), was deeply involved in gang violence and drug trafficking. When he was arrested, police seized gold bars, $7 million in cash, and firearms.

He had previously faked his death to evade authorities, claiming to have died from Covid-19 during the pandemic. Later, in 2022, authorities announced his death in prison due to a riot-induced fire, though his badly burnt body was never identified.

President Noboa's administration initially collected DNA samples from all prisoners for identification but reportedly stopped due to concerns that the samples could be used to link prisoners to other crimes.