The prosecutor and the president of the Dominican Drug Control Department (DNCD), Ivan Pena Castillo met yesterday for two hours with New York assistant prosecutors, Jaikumhar Ramaswami, who is the assistant prosecutor for the Southern District of New York for money laundering, and David J. Barardinelli, the assistant prosecutor for criminal affairs for the Southern District. The prosecutors are assigned to the case of former army captain Quirino Ernesto Paulino Castillo, Eduardo Rodriguez Cordero and Vladimir Garcia, arrested for drug smuggling in New York.
As reported in Diario Libre, the prosecutors received reports on the confiscated assets of the drug smugglers. Hernandez Peguero confirmed that there are another 20 persons involved in the case, but that the NY grand jury has blocked the release of select information.
National District prosecutor Jose Manuel Hernandez told reporters that, so far, the assets seized from Quirino Paulino Castillo total RD$3.0 billion. In addition to these assets, the prosecutor said that the latest safes that were seized from Luis Eduardo Rodriguez Cordero (a.k.a. Eduardito) contained US$33,000 to go with the US$2.5 million that were previously seized, as well as important documents.
Hernandez also told the press that the defense of Quirino favors that one of the helicopters, valued at US$2 million, be sold.