According to Hoy newspaper, a judge has ordered three of those apprehended in Saturday’s RD$900-million drug bust to remain in custody. Former army captain Quirino Ernesto Paulino Castillo and his wife Belkis Elizabeth Ubri Medrano were arrested in Santo Domingo, while National Police Lieutenant Colonel Lidio Arturo Terrero Nin and civilian Tirso Cuevas Nin were taken into custody after being discovered transporting 1,300 kilos of cocaine in a truck on the outskirts of Santo Domingo. The three men will be sent to the Najayo jail in San Cristobal, while Ubri Medrano will be released on RD$2 million bail. The defense council of the accused had requested that all be given bail conditions, but Attorney General Jose Manuel Hernandez Peguero supported the judge’s decision to the contrary, saying that if they were to be released, it would be like asking the people to “kneel down” to drug trafficking and crime.
Hoy newspaper’s Que se dice column also deals with the story, saying many questions need to be answered regarding the involvement of military, police and political figures in the country’s criminal activity. While he says that many pieces are of the country’s narco-trafficking machinery are falling, the writer wonders if lawyer Negro Veras wasn’t right when he vehemently insisted last week that there wasn’t enough political willpower to wage the fight against narcotics smuggling in the DR. The attorney general has said that will be no hesitation to prosecute whoever else may be involved.