Majority of international drug network members plead guilty in operation Buffalo NK

Santo Domingo.- Nine out of ten individuals linked to an international drug trafficking ring have pleaded guilty to large-scale drug distribution as part of Operation Buffalo NK. Five of them were sentenced through abbreviated criminal proceedings after accepting the charges brought by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, while four others are awaiting court approval of their plea deals.

Judge Raymundo Mejía of the First Court of Instruction of the National District handed down the sentences based on evidence presented by prosecutors. Among those sentenced, José Antonio Toribio received five years, of which eight months must be served and the remainder suspended; he was also fined 50,000 pesos.

Juan Bolívar Hernández was given a five-year sentence, with two years and six months suspended, and will serve the rest in the San Felipe Penitentiary Center in Puerto Plata. The court also ordered the confiscation of 290,000 pesos, $1,700 USD, and an additional 50,450 pesos.

Robert Nicolás Acosta Adames was sentenced to seven years, with three years and six months suspended. Severiano Núñez Pichardo received a five-year sentence, of which he must serve one year and three months. Maritza Flete Santana was given a fully suspended three-year sentence and fined the equivalent of 25 minimum wages.