One of the most dangerous former associates of convicted drug dealer Quirino Ernesto Paulino Castillo, who was sentenced to ten years in jail in the United States and who recently returned to the country, has now reappeared on the radar of the anti drug agencies in the Dominican Republic and has been arrested on suspicion of being in charge of a shipment of cocaine being sent to the Netherlands concealed in a pineapple consignment.
Carlos Alberto Villavizar Guzman has been accused by the National Drug Control Agency (DNCD) of being one of the heads of a drug-dealing group that exported drugs to Europe and the United States.
The DNCD and the Public Prosecution service were surprised to find he was involved as they had not been told that he was repatriated from the United States in 2009 after serving his jail sentence there for being a member of Paulino Castillo’s network.
He was arrested in June 2005 and was extradited to the US. He is thought to be one of the most violent members of Quirino’s network.
However, it appears that the US authorities were not aware of the number of murders attributed to the gang and only concentrated on the drug dealing aspect.
Last October, the Dominican authorities became aware of the presence of Villavizar Guzman in connection with the shipment to the Netherlands and arrested him along with Hendrick Antonio Gil Aracena, Eliezel Salvador, alias El Shorty, and Gabriel Valdez.
He appeared in court and was sentenced to three months on remand in jail.