Americans, Canadians among 629 foreigners being held on drugs

Santo Domingo.- Dominican Republic’s Antinarcotics Agency (DNCD) has arrested 629 foreigners thus far this year, including citizens from countries as far as Uganda, to as close as Haiti.

Haitians top the list of suspects awaiting trial, with 484, in addition to 13 Colombians, 16 from Spain, 20 Americans, 17 Puerto Ricans, 11 Italians, 9 Venezuelans, 9 Canadians, 11 French, 8 Cubans, 9 Russians, one Paraguayan, one Nicaraguan, one Ghanan, 1 Chadian, 2 Ugandans, 1Libyan, 3 Czechs and 2 Belgians.

On the list of foreigners compiled by diariolibre.com figure suspects which the DNCD accuses of smuggling major, separate cocaine shipments to the Dominican Republic.

But it’s the Colombians, Venezuelans and Puerto Ricans who’ve brought the most drugs to the country however, together with powerful rings with contacts in Europe and the U.S.

Earlier this year the DNCD arrested an entire ring of suspected drug traffickers formed by the from Colombias and Venezuelans Juan Alberto Jimenez, Victor Urdaneta, Marino San Bernardo, Rosalba del Monte, Abel Rodriguez and Hernando Cortijo, charged with smuggling 834 kilos of Colombian cocaine through Venezuela.