Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Colombian drug and money laundering group busted

 
 
Colombia announced on Monday that they had arrested 14 men suspected of being the inner circle of a major drug trafficking and money laundering ring. 
             
Authorities say it's a major hit to the band of Daniel 'El Loco' Barrera. 
 
Arrested suspects, who were shown to the press on Monday, are thought to have carried out cocaine production, trafficking and money laundering.
 
They created false companies within Colombia and internationally to hide income from cocaine sales.
              
Colombian police chief Oscar Naranjo added the bust was the result of a two-year investigation. 
       
"It's a definitive hit to the organization of 'El Loco' Barrera. After two years of investigations in conjunction with the Colombian attorney general's office, the North American DEA and Virginian authorities in the United States, we have captured in this operation 14 members of the inner circle. They were dedicated to the illicit exportation of cocaine and at the same time money laundering on a large scale on Colombia's north coast." said Oscar Naranjo, Colombian Chief of Police
             
Police say the most notable of those arrested is a man known as 'El Flaco'.
 
He reportedly took over Barrera's position at the head of the group after Barrera went into hiding during the police crackdown.
              
The men allegedly worked on Colombia's northern coast, using false agricultural and transportation businesses in Colombia and Venezuela to get the drugs out of the country

Michael Hearns an Anti Money Laundering specialist with over 24 years of AML experience can also be found at www.launderingmoney.com and on twitter at : http://twitter.com/#!/LaunderingMoney

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