While people were partying, the drug enforcement agents of the National Drug Control Agency (DNCD) were hard at work.
On 26 December 2021, the agency reported that the Dominican Armada, state intelligence agencies and state prosecutors, seized 850 packages of presumably cocaine in a boat interception operation off the coast of Boca Chica, Santo Domingo province.
After an arduous intelligence work and subsequent pursuit, the members of the DNCD and military personnel intercepted the occupants of a 25 feet long speedboat, without name or registration, when it tried to introduce the shipment into Dominican territory. The boat would have come from South America.
After receiving an alert, the tactical and reaction teams mobilized all along the coastline, managing to apprehend two Dominicans and a Venezuelan, near the entrance of the Valiente sector, municipality of Santo Domingo Este, with 30 bales containing 850 packages of the substance.
“Those arrested in this operation, who will be identified in due course, are being placed at the disposal of the Public Prosecutor’s Office for the corresponding purposes,” states the DNCD press release.
The packages were sent to the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (INACIF) to determine the type and exact weight of the substance.
The DNCD reports that in 2021, more than 25,300 kilograms of different drugs have been seized, an unprecedented sum in the history of the DNCD. This includes 5,661 kilograms of cocaine, marijuana, crack, ectasy and other illicit substances.
According to statistics at the end of the year, some 20,000 people have been arrested for drug law violations, 93% of them Dominicans and 7% foreigners.
During this period 196 firearms of different calibers, 2,512 vehicles, more than US$2 million dollars and RD$42 million have been seized.
This year, as part of the agreements and the strengthening of international cooperation, 74 Dominicans have been extradited for various crimes, most of them to the United States and Puerto Rico.
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DNCD
27 December 2021