Major drug cartel linked to TV host sent US$12M per month abroad

Santo Domingo.- Justice minister Francisco Dominguez on Thursday said the money-laundering network comprised of Venezuelans, Colombians and Dominicans linked to TV personality Angie Agramonte, is one of the biggest cartels to set foot on the country.

"I’m talking about a case very similar or superior in terms of capacity by Quirino or Figueroa," he said, in reference to former Army captain Quirino Paulino and Puerto Rican drug lord José Figueroa Agosto.

When asked about whether the TV host would be charged, the official said "I can’t give you that indication because there are internal issues that we have to determine. In time, we’ll establish a position on that, but I cannot say it now."

The authorities found US$313,500 in two suitcases property of a Colombian woman in Agramonte’s vehicle.

Dominguez said Raymundo Antonio Peña, arrested on Sunday in Haiti, was a major player in a criminal and money laundering organization, sending as much as US$12 million a month to Venezuela, Colombia and Panama.

He said two elite teams of the National Investigations Dept. (DNI) is working the case.

Peña was sent to La Victoria prison for six months while the investigation concludes.