Court adjourns drug case

SantoDomingo.- A court in Higuey has postponed the ruling on preventivecustody measures for 38 people, including police and military officers, accusedin the case involving 680 packages of cocaine seized at Punta Cana airport lastweek.

After three hours of deliberations, judge Edwin AndrésRijo Delgado took the decision to postpone the session until next Wednesday, 3rd April so that the lawyers representing theaccused could obtain more knowledge of the case.

During Wednesday’s hearing, the defence lawyers said that thePublic Prosecutors had acted with secrecy in relation to the evidence.

The authorities were asking for one year in preventivecustody and for the case to be declared complex.

The accused include Drug Control Department, AirportSecurity and Customs agents, as well as five French nationals, Pascal Jean Furet,Bruno Armand Victor Ados, Alain Marc Paul Marie Castañoy and Nicholas ChristopherPisapia.

The criminal operation was dismantled by theauthorities on March 20th when they were about to send the drugs by plane toFrance.

According to the prosecution casefile, LieutenantColonel José Brazobán Adames, assigned to the Airport Security Corps (CESA), washeading the operation, along with Bolívar Alberto Mercado Díaz, Santana Núñez,José Manuel Celedonio Castro, Wáscar Francisco Zapata Ramírez and RafaelAníbal de la Rosa Tapia, as well as lieutenants Joan Antonio Daniel Rosario,Andrés Avelino Méndez García, Arencio Guevara Guevara, Miguel Damián Florimón,Kissoris Ciprián and Carlos H. Martínez.