Rolando Florian Felix, described by the National Police and the National Directorate of Drug Control (DNCD) as the No.1 drug trafficker in the D.R. over the last few years, will have the services of a public defender in his appeal against his 1994 conviction for international drug trafficking arising out of the seizure of 953 kilograms of cocaine off the coast of Pedernales in 1993. Mr. Florian Felix, who was arrested on 8 June in Juan Dolio, has captured the attention of the news media since he is believed to have been the main link between the D.R. and the Cali drug cartel in Colombia.
His alleged “right hand man”, Franklyn Ferreras, was killed last week in what the authorities described as an “exchange of gunfire” by members of the National Police, who were working in conjunction with the DNCD.
Mr. Florian, who is also accused of planning the murders of the head of the DNCD, a prominent politician and an investigative journalist, is said to be a millionaire, despite the fact that he claims to have very few assets and that he cannot afford a lawyer for his appeal.
There have been rumors in the local news media that the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has asked the Dominican government to extradite Mr. Florian Felix to the U.S.