Santo Domingo(AFP). Six members of an international drug trafficking and money laundering ring were detained in the Dominican Republic and will be extradited to the United States, where they are wanted by authorities, Dominican officials said Monday, AFP reported.
The detainees "are part of an international group pursued by American law officials," said the Dominican National Drug Control agency (DNCD) in a statement posted on its website. The men are also wanted by Interpol, the website added.
According to the agency, the drug traffickers fled the United States and arrived in the Caribbean country to manage "large scale money laundering operations in the United States, Canada, Colombia, Venezuela, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic."
The law enforcement operation was a collaboration among the Dominican police, US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI and agencies in other countries, said DNCD spokesman Roberto Lebron in a press release.
The manager explained that the detainees were taken to a DNCD checkpoint to wait extradition to the United States. In addition, bank accounts that contain millions of dollars spread across different banks have been frozen, the statement said.
Dominican Watchdog Note: This case only got publicity due to the pressure from the United States. Dominican Republic has been the main transit point of driúgs for years and thousand of military and police officers are invloved in this. Last years 5000 was fired from the forces but none of them prosecuted, read more:
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