Authorities at the Las Americas International Airport (SDQ) apprehended four French citizens who were attempting to smuggle narcotics into France. The individuals were caught with their stomachs filled with suspected drug packages before they boarded their flights.
A joint operation involving the National Drug Control Agency (DNCD), the Specialized Airport Security Corps (CESAC), and state intelligence agencies, coordinated by the Public Ministry, led to the arrests. The suspects were flagged following intelligence reports and subsequent profiling at the airport.
Upon undergoing routine security screenings, one of the individuals triggered an alarm due to foreign objects detected in his digestive system. Further examinations of the other three French nationals revealed similar results.
The four detainees, three men and one woman, were transported to the Central Hospital of the Armed Forces, for the extracting of the drug packages from their bodies.
Dominican authorities believe this to be part of a larger drug trafficking network that utilizes both Dominican and foreign nationals as drug mules to transport narcotics to Europe and the United States.
The suspects are aged 18, 21, and two at 25. They were sent to the Permanent Attention Jurisdiction of Santo Domingo Province to face legal proceedings.
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DNCD
30 October 2024