The Attorney General Office (PGR) this week conducted more than 25 raids and arrested at least 12 persons in a new anti-narcotics and money laundering operation. The raids are part of the case now named Operation Larvae, hinting this one is expected to be a big one as the investigation progresses.
The raids included several hours of search in an exchange house and loans agency (Presta Bella Vista) in Bella Vista Mall in Santo Domingo. Businesses and homes in San Cristóbal, La Altagracia (Punta Cana) and Greater Santo Domingo were also raided for evidence in the case.
The National Drug Control Agency (DNCD) is collaborating in the effort that reportedly began with seizing 700 kg of cocaine on a speedboat that had arrived from Colombia in March 2020 near Nigua, San Cristóbal province.
The PGR reported that the Operation Larva is part of the new strategy developed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office headed by Attorney General Miriam German Brito and the management of the DNCD headed by Vice Admiral Jose M. Cabrera Ulloa to fight organized crime. The agencies are working together to dismantle networks dedicated to drug trafficking and are placing special emphasis on the financial structures used for asset laundering activities.
Dozens of vehicles and more than 30 properties worth millions have been seized under Operation Larvae. The arrested are in detention at the DNCD in Santo Domingo awaiting arraignment.
The crackdown on drug trafficking is the second major operation with German Brito as attorney general. Only two months ago, the Attorney General Office acted to prosecute major drug traffickers and named this first case, Operation Falcon.
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Attorney General Office
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El Nuevo Diario
El Caribe
28 October 2021