A judge has ordered seven members of the Dominican National Police to be held in preventive custody for 18 months in connection with the theft of over 900,000 rounds of ammunition from National Police armories. The munitions were being sold at border binational markets, but the authorities did not take official notice nor actions to avoid this. The change came when the Minister of Interior and Police, Minister of Defense, Migration Agency director, Army commander, were replaced, coinciding with the second term of President Luis Abinader.
Minister of Interior and Police Faride Raful followed up on claims received from Haiti that munitions labeled as belonging to the Dominican Police were seized from gang members in Haiti. Yet, the investigation has singled out no general yet. The investigators accuse Police Special Operations Center director, Colonel Narciso Antonio Feliz, who was in charge of weapons custody. Also now in jail is the also accused Captain Nelson Valdex, responsible for the weapons, munitions and firearms depot at the Police.
The other officers ordered to jail include Juan Miguel Pérez Soler, sub-intendent, and enlisted personnel Juan Luis Díaz Medina, Moreibin Medina Pérez, Marino Antonio Rodríguez Toribio, and Rubiel Martínez (Escobar).
Meanwhile, Sergeant Major Miguel Ángel Gómez Espaillat and Captain Víctor Manuel Santos were granted bail of RD$2 million and RD$3 million, respectively, and ordered to surrender their passports and report to court periodically.
A civilian, Miguelina Bello Segura, who purchased the stolen ammunition to resell it to Haitians in Pedernales, was placed under house arrest. She has been cooperating with prosecutors.
The group, arrested in the operation now codenamed “Pandora” is accused of forming a criminal network that stole a vast quantity of ammunition and military equipment from police warehouses. They are also alleged to have modified blank-firing guns to convert them into fully functional firearms for sale.
Wilson Camacho, head of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (Pepca), has expressed his satisfaction with the court’s decision, which also granted the prosecution’s request to classify the case as complex, giving investigators extra time to investigate the case.
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DR1 News
27 November 2024