Dominican drug ring worked for major cartels

Santo Domingo.- The structure of the international drug ring dismantled Monday used Dominican Republic as a hub to "prep aircraft" worked for the Norte del Valle cartel, which received drugs from the cartel del Golfo.

The el Golfo is the rival of the Sinaloa cartel, which has spent several years based in Santiago (north).

National Drugs Control (DNCD) officials in coordination with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) started the investigation on informed that the ring operated at of El Higüero airport where they bought 108 gallons of fuel for the twin engine plane to reach Venezuela.

It was then that authorities infiltrated Captain Anthony Eduardo Leyba Perez as an undercover agent, whom the ring paid US$40,000 to fly the plane registry N711WX to Venezuela, where he was to receive payment.

They also offered him US$250,000 and US$150,000 to co-pilot the plane from Venezuela to Honduras, but this time, loaded with cocaine.

The indictment read Tuesday revealed that the contacts were involved in airports at Puerto Plata and Constanza.

The DNCD said still on the loose is the Venezuelan Luis Alberto Blanco Ascanio, alleged head of the criminal organization, and his driver Elvis José de los Santos de la Rosa.

Charges

José Luis Veras Marquez is accused of making the contacts to get the aircraft into the country and prepare its transfer to Venezuela; Sergeant Jose Antonio Cleto is accused receiving US$50,000 for the fuel, payment of the hotels for the foreigners, to the military and to the air traffic controllers.

The American Alberto Laureano is said to run a drug office in the country and the United States, serving cartels of Colombia and Venezuela.

Air Force Lt. Henry Garcia Valdez and Lt. Col. Juan Ramon Rosado Perez are accused of keeping the aircraft in Constanza airport for one month, getting paid US$2,500.

Rafael Rosado Fermín, president of the local airline Caribair, and Sergio Rene Gomez Diaz are accused of money laundering.