Two Dominican anti-drug agents charged in U.S. over alleged cocaine scheme

Two agents of the Dominican Republic’s National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD) have been charged in a federal court in Florida for allegedly transporting what they believed was 35 kilograms of cocaine from Barahona to Santo Domingo in exchange for financial gain.

The defendants were identified as DNCD second lieutenant and investigation unit commander Deny Manuel Sepulveda De Leon and agent Oliver Guevara Rodriguez. Both were arrested September 28 at Miami International Airport under a federal warrant issued earlier that month.

According to a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) affidavit, Sepulveda allegedly sought opportunities to obtain illicit income and was approached through a confidential source as part of an undercover operation. Investigators allegedly presented him with a plan to transport 35 kilograms of cocaine supposedly belonging to a Colombian trafficker.

In exchange, Sepulveda was allegedly promised five kilograms of cocaine as payment, with an estimated value of about US$57,600 based on prices in Miami and the Dominican Republic. Investigators said he instead received an initial US$3,000 and another payment equivalent to about US$4,000 in Dominican pesos.

The alleged transaction was part of a staged operation involving simulated cocaine. On August 29, Sepulveda traveled to Barahona in an unmarked DNCD vehicle driven by Guevara. According to the affidavit, the confidential source placed a suitcase containing 35 kilograms of simulated cocaine in the vehicle’s trunk.

After arriving in Santo Domingo, the agents met the source at a gas station. Sepulveda reportedly noticed a suspicious vehicle and instructed Guevara to drive to a nearby park, where the simulated packages were transferred to the source’s vehicle.

The DEA affidavit also describes a recorded conversation in which the source asked Sepulveda about Guevara’s involvement and whether he could be trusted. Sepulveda allegedly responded that although he normally worked alone, he trusted Guevara and could send him to carry out tasks.

The two DNCD agents were subsequently arrested at Miami International Airport on September 28 as part of the U.S. federal investigation.